Algeria will be aiming to continue their perfect start to the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Thursday as they welcome Niger to the Nelson Mandela Stadium.
For the visitors, securing a first AFCON qualifying victory will be the major target off the back of two share of the spoils from as many outings so far.
Match preview
© Reuters
Algeria saw off the threat of Tanzania in a comfortable 2-0 victory when the teams went head-to-head at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium back in June.
With the scores level heading into the final knockings of the first-half, Ramy Bensebaini broke the deadlock for Djamel Belmadi's men before Mohamed El Amine Amoura put the result to bed in the penultimate minute of normal time.
Consequently, the Desert Warriors have now opened up a four-point lead at the top of their AFCON qualifying group after just two rounds of matches.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have suffered defeat in eight of the nine previous editions of this fixture across all competitions.
Having lost just once in their last 20 matches on home turf dating back to March 2021, Thursday's hosts are well-placed to secure yet another impressive result in front of their fans.
© Reuters
Niger Republic played out a 1-1 stalemate against the Cranes of Uganda in the teams' matchday two encounter at the St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende on June 8.
Milutin Sredojevic's men went behind to Milton Karisa's opener two minutes shy of the break but managed to even matters 20 minutes from time through Amadou Sabo.
With two points picked up from their two Group F qualifiers so far, the Dama Gazelle sit second in the standings as they aim to end a 10-year wait for an appearance at Africa's biggest footballing showpiece.
Still without a victory away from home since 2021, Thursday's visitors have it all to do in what is set to be yet another daunting assignment on enemy territory.
Team News
Having racked up 19 strikes in 46 matches, Victorien Adebayor has netted more times for Niger than the rest of the current squad combined, making him one to keep an eye on.
With regular first-choice goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda not in the picture as of now, Mahamdou Tanja and Oumarou Soumaila will battle it out for a starting berth between the sticks for the visitors.
Algerian striker Islam Slimani will be looking to continue his rich vein of form in front of goal after scoring six goals in his last six games at club level.
Slimani, who is also his country's record goalscorer with 41, has the opportunity to extend his five-goal lead at the top of the all-time scoring charts
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Rayan Ait-Nouri recently switched his international allegiance to Algeria and could make his debut for the home side here.
Algeria possible starting lineup:
Oukidja; Mandi, Bensebaini, Touba, Tougai; Bennacer, Bentaleb, Zerrouki; Belaili, Mahrez, Slimani
Niger possible starting lineup:
Tanja; Katkore, Diori, Karim, Alhassane; Mohamed, Diabate, Moumouni; Adebayor, Wonkoye, Djibrilla
We say: Algeria 3-0 Niger
With the quality they boast all over the pitch, Algeria are huge favourites to come away with all three points, and coupled with the added advantage of playing on home turf, we are backing them to get the job done in emphatic fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
