Round three of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers pits Burkina Faso against Burundi at Stade du 4 Aout on Thursday evening.
The teams head into this one off the back of mixed fortunes, as the hosts ran out convincing winners over Malawi last time out, while their visitors fell to a narrow defeat against Senegal.
Match preview
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Buoyed by their last-gasp draw against Senegal four days earlier, Burkina Faso recorded their most impressive result of 2024 thanks to a 3-1 triumph at the expense of Malawi on September 10.
Making his first international start since June, Lassina Traore netted a first-half double to put Brahima Traore's men in the driving seat before Hassane Bande put the result beyond doubt with a penalty right on the hour mark.
That was Traore's first managerial win in charge since taking over from Hubert Velud after a disappointing AFCON campaign where Les Etalons suffered a last-16 exit to Mali.
Already with some catching up to do in their World Cup qualifying group, Burkina Faso will be keen to take a giant step towards making it through to next year's continental showpiece in their upcoming outing.
In the first of a crunch double-header against Burundi three days apart, Thursday's hosts know a win would leave them on the verge of getting the job done and will be expected to go full guns blazing.
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Burundi had nothing to show for a highly spirited display against Senegal as they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat on September 9 at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Ismaila Sarr came up with the decisive moment 19 minutes shy of full time as he held his nerve from 12 yards to snap a four-game unbeaten run for Etienne Ndayiragije's men.
It was also Les Hirondelles' first competitive loss since the turn of the year, with prior defeats against Algeria and Madagascar coming in January's friendly encounters.
After going over two years without winning an away game, Thursday's visitors make the journey to Ouagadougou in search of a third straight victory on enemy territory to get their AFCON qualifying campaign back on track.
Team News
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Despite managing just one goal in 10 matches at club level this term, Lassina Traore is on course to lead the line for Burkina Faso with a supporting cast of Hassane Bande and Bertrand Traore.
Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara is also in contention after recently opening his account for the season against Southampton.
Mohamed Konate endured a disappointing outing for the home side last time out having had to come off with an injury scare less than 10 minutes into his second-half cameo.
Burundi's Bienvenue Kanakimana was on target on his return to action for Jablonec over the weekend and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Thirty-four-year-old Shabani Hussein was dropped to the bench for his side's defeat to Senegal but should be back to feature up front in this one.
Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:
Koffi; Ouedraogo, Tapsoba, Djiga, Kabore; Simpore, Badolo, Banse; Bande, L Traore, B Traore
Burundi possible starting lineup:
Nkurunziza, Musore, Nsabiyumva, Ndayishimiye, Muderi; Kanakimana, Eldinho, Msanga, Bigirimana, Liongola; Hussein
We say: Burkina Faso 1-0 Burundi
Burundi have taken some huge scalps on the road of late and have every reason to believe they can emerge victorious here.
That said, we can see the home side coming out on top in what should be a tight affair.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
