It is a West African battle as Burkina Faso face Gabon in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday. A closely fought encounter is predicted here but given all the missing players for Gabon, Burkina Faso will fancy their chances.
Burkina Faso reached the round of 16 after finishing second in Group A behind Cameroon. They showed great character to recover from an opening day defeat to the hosts to secure a place in the knockout out stage.
The Stallions head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia in their final Group A fixture. They took an early lead through Cyrille Bayala but were unable to hold on and were pegged back after the break.
That result points to a defensive problem that has plagued Burkina Faso in this year’s AFCON. Kampuchea Malo’s men also took the lead in their opening fixture against Cameroon and failed to hold on for the win.
Gabon also finished second in their group and secured a place in Sunday’s clash after going unbeaten in the first round. However, there seems to be a decline in results as they have not won since the 1-0 victory over debutants Comoros in the opening fixture.
Patrice Neveu’s men played out a 2-2 draw with Morocco in their final Group A fixture on Tuesday. They have shown similar defensive vulnerabilities to Burkina Faso and where pegged back twice from leading positions.
Gabon’s campaign in Cameroon has not been without its problems as captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and key midfielder Mario Lemina have been ruled out of the competition. While they found a way to cope in the first round, the absence of these key players is likely to be felt as the competition enters the business stage.
How the bookies view it
Gabon have the slight edge among the bookies and are priced at 15/8 by BetVictor to claim the win on Sunday. A victory for Burkina Faso is valued at 43/20 by Unibet while a draw is set at odds of 97/50 with Sporting Index.
Head to head
Gabon have a 4-2 advantage with four draws from 10 previous matches against Burkina Faso. However, Burkina Faso claimed a 3-0 victory when both teams met in a pre-tournament friendly on the eve of the AFCON.
Players to watch
Cyrille Bayala and Hassane Bande have impressed for Burkina Faso at the AFCON with both men already on the score sheet in the competition. They can ensure the Stallions find the net on Sunday at 4/9 with Paddy Power.
Even in the absence of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Gabon have been decent in attack at the AFCON. Jim Allevinah and Aaron Boupendza have both found the net in Cameroon and can ensure the Gabonese get on the score sheet on Sunday at 2/5 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye
Given the quality in each attack and the unconvincing backline, both teams could be backed to score at 6/5 with Paddy Power. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 15/8 with betfair.
Burkina Faso have opened the scoring in all three of their matches and can be tipped to grabbed the first goal on Sunday at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This African Nations Cup match between Burkina Faso and Gabon will be played on Jan 23, 2022 and kick off at 16:00. Check below for our tipsters best Burkina Faso vs Gabon prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
