Egypt get their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign underway when they lock horns against Angola at the Cairo International Stadium on Wednesday.
The home side go in search of their fourth appearance at the World Cup finals, while the visitors are looking to feature for the first time ever.
Match preview
© Reuters
Egypt closed out their AFCON qualifying journey in style, claiming a 4-0 home victory over Group G runners-up Comoros in the nation's capital on March 29.
Mohamed Elneny and Mohamed Sherif put Hossam El-Badry's men in the driving seat, before further goals from Mohamed Salah put the result beyond doubt.
The Pharaohs were one of seven teams to go unbeaten throughout the qualifiers and booked their spot at next year's event in Cameroon with two games to spare.
Awaiting the North Africans next is the visit of an Angola side who are yet to come out on top in any of the five previous meetings between the teams.
However, Wednesday's contest will be the first encounter since 2008 when the hosts claimed a 2-1 victory en route to winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
Angola wrapped up an otherwise dismal AFCON qualifying display with an impressive 2-0 triumph over Gabon at the Estadio 11 de Novembro.
Second-half goals from Manuel Cafumana and Loide Augusto three minutes apart earned Pedro Goncalves's men a first win in six competitive outings.
The Palancas Negras have failed to score in half of those matches and their performances at the offensive end have to improve if they are to stand any chance of getting a result.
Without an away victory since 2019, Wednesday's visitors are set for another baptism of fire against an Egypt side who have four of their last five on home turf.
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Team News
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has not been allowed to join up with the squad as he will have to quarantine for 10 days upon his return to England.
In Salah's absence, the majority of the burden in attack rests on the shoulders of Mohamed Sherif, who has netted two times in his first three games for the hosts.
With four clean sheets in the last five home games, Hossam El-Badry is expected to stick with the regular defensive unit consisting of Ayman Ashraf, Mohamed Hany, Ahmed Hegazy and Mahmoud Hamdi.
Loide Augusto found the back of the net within four minutes of coming off the bench in Angola's last game, and he could be rewarded with a start in this one.
Egypt possible starting lineup:
El-Shenawy; Ashraf, Hany, Hegazy, Hamdi; Sulaya, Elneny, Magdy Afsha; Trezeguet, Sherif, Fathy
Angola possible starting lineup:
Marques; Fortuna, Mananga, Bastos; Joao, Fredy, Va, Show; Augusto, Nzola, Papel
We say: Egypt 2-0 Angola
Egypt are firing on all cylinders in front of their fans, who will be confident of watching their team come out on top once again. We are backing the hosts to claim a routine win and kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign in style.
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 Egypt win with a probability of 61.86%. A draw had a probability of 22.8% and a win for Angola had a probability of 15.32%.
The most likely scoreline for a Egypt win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.65%) and 2-1 (9.44%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.66%), while for an Angola win it was 0-1 (6.02%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 14.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Egypt in this match.
