Ethiopia and Mozambique get their respective 2023 African Nations Championship campaigns underway with a meeting at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on Saturday.
The teams will be seeking to kick off as they mean to go on in Group A, where they have been drawn alongside tournament hosts Algeria and Libya.
Match preview
Ethiopia were on the receiving end of a 1-0 defeat in their final warm-up fixture against Morocco at the Mohammed VI Football Academy on Sunday.
Wubetu Abate's men looked to be on course for a share of the spoils before a late winner from Saifeddine Alami settled what was a tight encounter in Rabat.
As a result, the Walia Ibex have been beaten for the first time in eight matches across all competitions, a run which has seen them keep five clean sheets in that time.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who suffered a 3-2 loss in the only previous encounter between the teams which came over four decades ago.
Making their first appearance at the CHAN finals since 2016, when they managed just one point from three group fixtures, Ethiopia set out to put on a better show this time around.
Mozambique had their friendly against the Black Stars of Ghana on Sunday cut short in the 70th minute due to a controversial penalty decision.
Chiquinho Conde's men had earlier taken the lead at Stade du 5 Juillet through Shaquille's opening strike just shy of the half-time whistle.
Os Mambas are currently on a run of one victory in eight matches, in which they have only managed to find the back of the net on four occasions.
Mozambique will now be looking to put behind them a torrid run of form and kick off their first CHAN outing in eight years on a winning note.
Team News
Getaneh Kebede will be aiming to add to his impressive tally of 33 international goals and extend his lead at the top of Ethiopia's all-time scoring charts.
Off the back of an excellent goalscoring season at club level last time out where he picked up the top scorer award, Yogezu Bogale is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Nelson Divrassone scored the goal that handed his nation a place in the African Nations Championship, and the forward will now hope to catch the eye at the tournament proper.
Isac de Carvalho is one of three players to have taken part for Mozambique in the 2014 CHAN together with Saddam Guambe and Francisco Muchanga.
Ethiopia possible starting lineup:
Gebremikael; Tunjo, Hamid, Debebe, Bekele; Yohannes, Panom, Endashaw, Desta; Kebede, Bogale
Mozambique possible starting lineup:
Guambe; Matola, Macaime, Jone, Muze; Momade, Melo, Guambe; Shaquille, Ernesto, King
We say: Ethiopia 1-0 Mozambique
There is little to separate the teams heading into Saturday's clash, which could easily swing in either direction. That said, we are tipping Ethiopia to have enough about themselves to get the job done in what should be a tight affair.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
