Senegal and Malawi round up their respective group-stage campaigns with their meeting at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Senegal come into the game off the back of a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe in their penultimate group fixture on Wednesday while Malawi were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Namibia on the same day.
Match preview
For the first time since 2007, Senegal will be going head-to-head against a Malawi side who they have a mixed record against.
Aliou Cisse's men came out on top in a 3-2 international friendly when the teams last met but suffered a 2-0 defeat in the clash prior to that two decades earlier.
With almost no margin for error, the Lions of Teranga now brace themselves up for two games on the trot against the two sides currently beneath them in Group B, with only a 24-hour window of recovery.
No guest nation has ever gone all the way in the history of the COSAFA, but Senegal would take a massive step towards ending that run by securing a spot in the semi-finals.
Senegal are the defending champions of the WAFU Cup of Nations, and they go in search of more regional success within the continent.
Malawi have struggled to replicate their group-stage run from two years ago when they breezed into the knockout stage as group winners.
However, all hope is not lost for the Flames, who would also need results elsewhere to go their way to avoid a premature exit.
The Flames are one of three teams yet to pick up a win but have a bigger chance of survival than the other duo of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
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Team News
Pape Massar Djitte repaid his manager's faith for naming him in the XI versus Mozambique as he scored the all-important goal, and he could be rewarded by featuring right from the off once again.
Alfred Gomis was dropped to the bench for Woula Macire Sane last time out, but the former is expected to be recalled back into the lineup for this one.
Khuda Muyaba and Schumacher Kuwali - Malawi's only goalscorers in the competition so far - will line up either side of Muhammad Sulumba, who was left out against Mozambique.
Despite watching his defence concede more than once in consecutive matches, Bob Mpinganjira is likely to stick with his trusted lieutenants.
Senegal possible starting lineup:
N'Diaye; Gomis, Gningue, Fall, Ndiaye; Kane, Mendy, Diallo; Diene, Diop, Djitte
Malawi possible starting lineup:
Kakhobwe; Sanudi, Nyasulu, Kawonga, Mwale; Idana, Mkwate, Selemani; Muyaba, Kuwali, Sulumba
We say: Senegal 2-1 Malawi
Senegal have got themselves back on track but cannot afford any more slip ups as the competition reaches its tipping point. The same could be said for Malawi, so both teams have all to play for in this one. However, Senegal look the better team on paper, and we are backing them to come out victorious at the end of 90 minutes.
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 Senegal win with a probability of 54.8%. A draw had a probability of 23% and a win for Malawi had a probability of 22.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Senegal win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.15%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.84%) and 2-0 (9.21%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.85%), while for a Malawi win it was 0-1 (5.99%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Senegal would win this match.
