Senegal look to be in a great position ahead of the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations and they will be in an expectant mood against outsiders Burkina Faso.
Aliou Cisse’s side have been solid if unspectacular during the tournament and they face Burkina Faso on Wednesday evening in an 20:00 kick off.
Thursday’s game looks much more even as hosts Cameroon are in action against Egypt.
The home side have scored 11 goals in their five matches in the tournament so far, while Egypt, led by Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, have had to grind their way through games more often.
Senegal’s Defence To Shine Again
In five games so far, Senegal have kept four clean sheets with their perfect defensive record broken by Equatorial Guinea in their quarter-final clash on Sunday through Jannick Buyla’s goal.
It might not have been scintillating football throughout as far as Senegal are concerned, but it has been very effective as they attempt to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.
Against Equatorial Guinea, Senegal were able to call upon their talisman Sadio Mane after he was withdrawn from their match against Cape Verde with a head injury, and he adds to what is a quality group of players.
Burkina Faso have outperformed expectations during the tournament so far and are in the semi-finals after defeating Tunisia 1-0.
In five matches, they have managed to win only twice inside 90 minutes and have also registered just five goals.
Given how strong Senegal’s defence has been, this one could be a step too far for Burkina Faso and Senegal can be backed to win to zero at 17/10.
Cameroon to Make Home Advantage Count
Cameroon have been the best team in the tournament so far, particularly from an attacking point of view.
In a tournament which has generally yielded few goals and several tight matches, the hosts have been able to secure some convincing victories along the way.
In the group stage, they defeated Ethiopia and Burkina Faso while they have scored at least two goals in all but one of their five matches so far.
Their goals, however, have come from only two sources with Vincent Aboubakar leading the charts with six goals, while team-mate Karl Toko Ekambi is just one goal behind with five.
The hosts are looking to win the tournament for a sixth time, a result which take them to only one behind semi-final rivals Egypt, who are Africa’s most successful team.
The Pharaohs, in a similar vein to Senegal, have been solid rather than outstanding during the tournament, though to their credit they have recovered well from an opening group-stage loss to Nigeria.
Liverpool forward Salah has scored twice during the tournament and it was he who scored the winning penalty against the Ivory Coast in the round of 16, showcasing his ability to turn up in the big games once more.
Both teams have got real quality throughout and this one is likely to produce more goals than the other semi-final – though Cameroon’s extra firepower during this tournament should see them advance.
The hosts can be backed to win with both teams to score at 19/4.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
