Congo welcome Mali to Stade Alphonse Massemba-Debat on Sunday evening with so much still to play for in Group G of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The teams are currently separated by six points heading into the final round of qualifying matches, shaping up this weekend's clash to be a keenly-contested affair.
Match preview
Congo ended a run of five matches without a victory as they saw off the threat of South Sudan in a narrow 1-0 win at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium on March 27.
With the scores level heading into the final minute of normal time, Gabriel Charpentier grabbed a late winner to get the job done for Paul Put's men.
As a result, the Red Devils have moved up to third place in their qualifying group, where the top three teams are separated by just three points.
Up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have come out on top in four of the last five meetings between the teams across all competitions.
Off the back of a first defeat in six home matches last time out, Sunday's hosts will be keen to avoid back to back defeats in front of their fans for the first time since October 2021.
Mali fell to an agonising 1-0 defeat against the Scorpions of Gambia when the teams squared off at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca on March 27.
Omar Colley broke the deadlock 11 minutes from time, and that proved to be the all-important moment which put Eric Chelle's men to the sword.
Having amassed nine points from their four matches, Les Aigles remain top of Group G, level on points with Gambia, albeit with a game in hand.
Off the back of a nine-game unbeaten streak, Sunday's visitors have now lost three of their last four matches away from home leading up to this weekend's contest.
Team News
Having recovered from a lengthy injury layoff, Yves Bissouma is back on duty for Mali and will be pushing for a place in the starting lineup here.
Fresh from winning the CAF Champions League with Al Ahly last Sunday, 25-year-old Aliou Dieng could be handed a rare breather in this one.
Chance Mondzenga has been handed his maiden call-up to the Congo national team, but it remains to be seen whether the 22-year-old will play a part in this one.
Despite finding the back of the net just once since the turn of the year, Thievy Bifouma should retain his spot in the visitors' XI, fending off competition from Chandrel Massanga.
Congo possible starting lineup:
Ndzila; Poaty, Messi, Bidounga, Dembi; Makouta, Ossete; Mboungou, Mabella, Moussiti-Oko; Bifouma
Mali possible starting lineup:
Diawara; Dante, Fofana, Sacko, Kouyate; Camara, Samassekou; Djenepo, Haidara, Coulibaly; Koita
We say: Congo 0-1 Mali
A tight encounter is expected here as neither team will want to give too much away. That said, we are tipping Mali to secure a narrow victory at the end of the 90 minutes in Brazzaville.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
