Seeking to pick up two wins from two and strengthen their lead at the top of Group J, Libya take a trip to the Nuevo Estadio de Malaboq to face Equatorial Guinea in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Monday.
The Nzalang Nacional, on the other hand, will be looking to get their campaign up and running after suffering a humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tunisia in Thursday's group opener.
Match preview
© Reuters
Equatorial Guinea were on the receiving end of a humbling 4-0 defeat at the hands of Tunisia when the sides squared off in Wednesday's group opener.
In a one-sided affair at the Stade Olympique de Rades, second-half goals from Naim Sliti, Seifeddine Jaziri and a brace from substitute Youssef Msakni saw the Carthage Eagles cruise to a comfortable home victory.
Prior to that, Juan Micha's side were beaten 3-1 by Senegal back in January which saw them suffer a quarter-final exit from the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.
Equatorial Guinea now return home where they are on a run of five wins from their last six outings, with a 1-0 defeat against Ivory Coast on January 12 being the only exception.
© Reuters
Libya, on the other hand, kicked off their AFCON qualification campaign on a winning note when they saw off a resilient Botswana side 1-0 on Wednesday.
Al Ahli Tripoli forward Saleh Taher scored the only goal at the Martyrs of February Stadium when he rebounded home Sanad Al Werfalli's missed penalty nine minutes into the second period.
Prior to that, Corentin Martins's men were on a four-game winless run in competitive outings, losing three and picking up one draw in their final four outings at the World Cup qualifiers last year.
Libya, who are eyeing a return to the Africa Cup of Nations following a five-year absence, have lost each of their last three qualifying games away from home, scoring one and shipping six goals in that time.
While they will be looking to end this dry spell and make it two wins from two, next up is the challenge of an opposing side who have won three of the last four meetings between the teams since 2012.
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Equatorial Guinea will be without 23-year-old Joanet Lopez after the Lleida Esportiu forward received his marching orders in Thursday's game against Tunisia.
Despite their poor defensive performance against the Carthage Eagles, we expect Micha to name a similar XI, meaning we could see a centre-back pairing of Javier Akapo and Luis Enrique Nsue shielding Jesus Owono in goal.
Federico Bikoro, Jannick Buyla and Ruben Belima should start at the heart of the park, while the trio of Josete Miranda, Pablo Ganet and 24-year-old Oscar Siafa should handle business in the final third.
Meanwhile, Taher ended an eight-game goal drought with his winner against Botswana and the 30-year-old should lead the Libyan attack once again.
The duo of Omar Al Khoja and Mohammed Sawlah should offer support in attack, while Esperance Tunis midfielder Hamdou Elhouni should retain his place at the centre of the park following an impressive opening-day performance.
Off the back of a rock-solid performance on Wednesday, we expect a back three of Salah Fakroun, Ahmed El Trbi and Sanad Al Werfalli, shielding 22-year-old Mouad Ellafi between the sticks.
Equatorial Guinea possible starting lineup:
Owono; Senra, Nsue, Akapo, Ndong; Belima, Buyla, Bikoro; Miranda, Ganet, Siafa
Libya possible starting lineup:
Ellafi; Fakroun, El Trbi, Al Werfalli; Al Touhami, Rajab, Elhouni, Al Munir; Al Khoja, Taher, Sawlah
We say: Equatorial Guinea 2-1 Libya
Libya head into Monday's game in fine form, winning three of their last four outings across all competitions. However, standing in their way is an Equatorial Guinea side who have won three of the last four meetings between the teams. We are backing the Nzalang Nacional to make use of their home advantage in this one and come away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
