Sports Mole previews Wednesday's African Nations Championship clash between Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Burkina Faso face Zimbabwe in the Total African Nations Championship on Wednesday afternoon, as both sides look to bounce back from disappointing defeats last time out.

The Group A fixture could see one of the sides exit the competition already, and both nations will be keen to avoid such an outcome.

Match preview

Former Burkina Faso Under-17 head coach Seydou Zerbo is now at the helm of the senior side and oversaw a dramatic qualification process that needed a last-minute strike from Stephane Pognongo against Ghana to secure their place in the competition.

Les Etalons fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of 2016 finalists Mali in the opening day encounter and will know they will likely need a victory in midweek if they are to progress to the knockout stages.

It is just the third time that the West African nation have qualified for the tournament, and they failed to progress from the group stages in both 2014 and 2018.

Burkina Faso had been in good form coming into the tournament, and they will be hoping that they can rediscover their momentum and goalscoring touch on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe sealed their place in this year's competition in impressive fashion. They put 10 goals past Mauritius and Lesotho, conceding just two in four qualifying games.

The Warriors were dealt a significant blow on the eve of the tournament, though, as nine players and five coaching staff members tested positive for coronavirus.

Despite the depleted squad, Zdravko Logarusic's side put up a good fight against the host nation Cameroon over the weekend, falling to a single goal in a narrow defeat.

Logarusic's men will be aiming to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible in order to maintain their ambition of bettering their fourth-placed finish in 2014.

Burkina Faso African Nations Championship form: L
Burkina Faso form (all competitions): WWWDWL

Zimbabwe African Nations Championship form: L
Zimbabwe form (all competitions): DWDLDL

Team News

Experienced goalkeeper Babayoure Sawadogo and 22-year-old striker Mohamed Lamine Ouattara are Burkina Faso's key men and will be pivotal to their nation's chances.

Pognongo was the hero that fired his nation through the qualifiers, and head coach Zerbo is likely to stick with the forward to lead his attack.

Prince Dube was the top goalscorer in the qualifying stage, but the Azam FC striker is unavailable and will be a big miss for Zimbabwe.

After their performance against Cameroon, Logarusic is unlikely to make many changes and will want to keep faith in the players that put in a good showing on Saturday.

Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:
Sawadogo; Hien, Toure, Zoungrana, Zongo; Traore, Nikiema, Diane; Pognongo, Ouattara, Tiendrebeogo

Zimbabwe possible starting lineup:
Chadya; Amini, Chamboko, Nekati, Mbeba; Nyahwa, Hachiro, Makamba, Nadolo; Chirinda, Matare

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We say: Burkina Faso 2-1 Zimbabwe

With so much at stake for both teams it could be a tight affair in midweek, but Zimbabwe's COVID-19 crisis has left them short on quality. We fancy Burkina Faso to edge this one and keep their qualification hopes alive.

Top betting tip

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