Seeking to move to the top of Group H of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, Ivory Coast go head to head with Comoros in the second of their two consecutive meetings on Tuesday.
While Comoros have struggled to find their footing, they will be looking to make it two consecutive wins at the Stade Omnisports de Malouzini following their opening-day victory over Lesotho.
Match preview
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Comoros' hopes of securing a second successive appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations suffered a fresh blow on Friday as they were beaten 3-1 by a rampant Ivory Coast side.
In a one-sided affair at the Stade Bouake, Christian Kouame, Sebastien Haller and Jean-Philippe Krasso found the back of the net to put the hosts in a commanding lead before substitute Ibroihim Djoudja grabbed a 93rd-minute consolation for the hosts.
Prior to that, Les Coelacantes kicked off their AFCON qualifying campaign with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Lesotho on June 3, four days before losing 2-1 against Zambia at the National Heroes Stadium.
Younes Zerdouk's men have now lost their last three matches across all competitions, scoring two goals and conceding six since July's goalless draw with South Africa.
However, Comoros will be backing themselves to turn things around as they head into the midweek clash on a run of three consecutive wins at the Stade Omnisports de Malouzini and are unbeaten in their last seven outings on home soil since 2019.
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Prior to Friday's victory, Ivory Coast endured a somewhat disappointing outing at the 2022 CHAN for home-based players, where they finished as one of the four group-stage best losers before crashing out in the quarter-finals at the hands of Algeria.
However, the Elephants have shown more class in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they have picked up seven points from their opening three matches in Group H.
Jean-Louis Gasset's men, who have featured in each of the previous nine AFCON editions since missing out in 2004, currently sit second in the group standings, two points off first-placed Zambia, albeit with one game in hand.
While Ivory Coast will be looking to surge to the summit of Group H, they have managed just one win in their last seven away matches across all competitions, losing four and claiming two draws since January 2022.
Team News
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Comoros will take to the pitch without centre-back Karim Attoumani, who came off with a game-ending injury minutes into the second half on Friday.
In his absence, Botosani man Kassim M'Dahoma should come into the fold, teaming up with Mohamed Youssouf, Ahmed Soilihi and Akim Djaha in the back four.
Djoudja staked his claim for a starting role with his short cameo at the Stade Bouake and the 28-year-old forward could be rewarded with a spot in the XI on Tuesday.
Following their dominant display in last week's reverse fixture, Gasset has no major reason to tinker with his starting side, meaning that Ibrahim Sangare and Franck Kessie should retain spots at the centre of the park.
Haller took his international goal tally to five with his strike on Friday and the Dortmund man should spearhead the Elephant's attack once again, while Serge Aurier, Eric Bailly, Abakar Sylla and Ghislain Konan should handle business at the opposite end of the pitch.
Comoros possible starting lineup:
Boina; Youssouf, M'Dahoma, Soilihi, Djaha; Mohamed, M'Changama, Bakari; Youssouf, Selemani, Mohamed
Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:
A Sangare; Aurier, Bailly, Sylla, Konan; Traore, I Sangare, Kessie; Kouame, Haller, Gradel
We say: Comoros 1-3 Ivory Coast
While Comoros will be looking to stop the rot, they are no match for a star-studded Ivory Coast side who are unbeaten in the AFCON qualifiers since 2020. We predict another one-sided affair with Gasset's side prevailing once again.
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