The Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara plays host to the highly-anticipated clash between African hotshots Ivory Coast and Cameroon on Monday.
With 10 World Cup appearances between themselves, the teams know a lot about successful World Cup qualifying campaigns and are favourites to progress from the group.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ivory Coast got their qualifying journey underway with a goalless draw against the Mambas of Mozambique at Estadio do Zimpeto on Friday.
Patrice Beaumelle's men were on top for the majority of the contest but failed to find the all-important goal needed to claim all three points.
However, the Elephants have extended their current streak of matches without a defeat to seven since a 1-0 loss to Japan back in November 2020.
Monday's hosts now prepare for the visit of a Cameroon side who they have beaten in each of the last two competitive encounters involving the teams.
Having not lost on home turf in three years, Ivory Coast will back themselves to spark celebrations among their supporters at the sound of the final whistle in Abidjan.
Cameroon made an ideal start to life in Group D, easing past the Flames of Malawi in a 2-0 triumph at the Stade Omnisport Paul Biya on Friday.
Despite not being at their best, Toni Conceicao's men got the job done through first-half goals from Vincent Aboubakar and Michael Ngadeu.
The Indomitable Lions, who currently hold the record for the most appearances of any African nation at the World Cup finals with seven, have stolen an early march on the side expected to push them all the way for a spot in Qatar next year.
With the teams scheduled to face off again eight days after Monday's clash, the visitors could potentially open up a significant lead over their hosts after just three rounds of matches.
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Team News
With no fresh injury or suspension concerns, both teams are expected to name their strongest lineups available for a match of this nature.
Ivory Coast midfielder Digbo Maiga is still relatively new to his side's set-up, and he could be sacrificed for a more experienced Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro.
Vincent Aboubakar's has scored more goals for Cameroon than any other active player, and his opener last time out was his 24th for the central Africans.
Aboubakar will be joined in attack by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who is due an international goal after his last strike for Monday's visitors came back in 2019.
Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:
Gbohouo; Kamara, Sangare, Diomande; Konan, Die, Kossounou, Gradel; Haller, Akpa Akpro, Kouassi
Cameroon possible starting lineup:
Epassy; Mbaizo, Ngadeu, Moukoudi, Fai; Ngamaleu, Hongla, Kunde; Toko Ekambi, Aboubakar, Choupo-Moting
We say: Ivory Coast 2-1 Cameroon
As with every high-profile contest, both sides will be gunning for all three points in a bid to strengthen their position in the group. An end-to-end affair is expected here with goals at both ends, and we are tipping the home side to carry the day, albeit by only a narrow margin.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ivory Coast win with a probability of 49.93%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Cameroon had a probability of 24.82%.
The most likely scoreline for a Ivory Coast win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.43%) and 2-0 (9.17%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12%), while for a Cameroon win it was 0-1 (7.64%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Ivory Coast would win this match.
