Two of the eliminated sides from Group D of the African World Cup qualification will battle it out to try to avoid being the team to finish bottom on Tuesday afternoon.
Mozambique currently foot the table without a win so far in the second round, while Malawi could confirm third place if they avoid defeat.
Match preview
Having beaten Botswana over two legs to book their place in the second round of World Cup qualification, Malawi were left with a big job to do after being drawn with giants Ivory Coast and Cameroon in their group.
Defeat in their opening match against Cameroon was followed up by a welcome victory over fellow-minnows Mozambique, before back-to-back defeats against Ivory Coast has seem them eliminated with two games left to play.
Despite their struggling form in the second round, this campaign does represent the most matches played by the South-East African nation in World Cup qualifying since South Africa 2010.
Under the tutelage of Meke Mwase, the Flames will be looking to finish the year's international calendar on a high, before starting preparations for the scheduled African Cup of Nations due to begin in January.
Malawi secured qualification for the continent's premier tournament in March and will be making their third appearance at the African Cup of Nations, having last featured in 2010.
In sharp contrast to Tuesday's opponents, Mozambique finished bottom of their Africa Cup of Nations qualification group and look set to foot the table in World Cup qualification.
Without a win in Group D so far, Mozambique have lost all but one of their encounters so far, with their only point coming in the opening game against Ivory Coast.
Having only been competing as an independent country since 1982, Mozambique for much of their football history had represented the Portuguese national team.
Like Malawi, the current qualification campaign is set to be their longest run since 2010, and the Mambas will be desperate to end it with a win.
If the defeat to Malawi earlier in the qualification campaign is discounted, Mozambique are actually unbeaten against their group opponents in recent years, having won one and drawn the previous three meetings.
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
Team News
With only two goals in qualification so far, Malawi have been indebted to the performances of Khuda Muyaba and Richard Mbulu.
The pair have netted both the Malawi goals, with Mbulu the only man on the scoresheet when the two met back in September.
Midfielder Chimango Kayira is currently the most experienced Malawi player in the squad with 68 caps to his name, yet the 28-year-old remains someway off the current record of Young Chimodzi's 159 appearances.
Geny Catamo has scored the only goal for Mozambique in qualification so far and the Sporting CP 'B' team winger is the Southern African nation's standout threat.
Kimiss Zavala is yet to keep a clean sheet for Mozambique in Group D and the goalkeeper will be keen to keep a shutout against Malawi.
Mozambique possible starting lineup:
Ernan; Reinildo, Malembana, Bonera, Fidel, Martinho; Luis Miquissone, Kambala, Geny, Nangy; Dayo
Malawi possible starting lineup:
Munthali; Sanudi, Cholopi, Denis, Petro; Chirwa, Idana, Mhango, Banda, Madinga; Muyaba
We say: Mozambique 1-2 Malawi
While this may be a dead rubber in terms of qualification, enough rides on this fixture to keep it interesting.
Malawi will be keen to enter the Africa Cup of Nations in strong form, making them the likely winners against bottom-placed Mozambique.
Top tip
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 Mozambique win with a probability of 41.49%. A win for Malawi had a probability of 30.82% and a draw had a probability of 27.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Mozambique win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.41%) and 2-0 (7.84%). The likeliest Malawi win was 0-1 (10.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.02%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Mozambique in this match.
