It is a battle of former champions as hosts Cameroon face Egypt in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. Both teams have plenty of experience at this level but the Cameroonians are still riding on home advantage and should have the edge here.
Cameroon have plenty of reasons to be pleased with their performance in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations as they have been one of the best teams in the competition. They are now just one game away from playing in their second final in the last three editions.
The Indomitable Lions are unbeaten in the competition having claimed four wins and a draw from their five matches. Antonio Conceicao’s men reached the semi-final after claiming a 2-0 victory over Gambia with Karl Toko Ekambi netting a brace.
Cameroon have also scored the most goals at the AFCON and boast the two leading scorers in the competition in Karl Toko Ekambi and Vincent Aboubakar. However, they have struggled to maintain their discipline at the back, keeping their first clean sheet in the competition last time out against Gambia.
Egypt made a slow start to the AFCON and following a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria in their opening fixture, were not fancied to reach this stage of the competition. However, they have shown great character since their first game and are unbeaten in their last four matches.
The Pharaohs came from behind and needed extra-time before seeing off North African rivals Morocco in the quarter-finals. They fell behind early but fought back through Mohamed Salah before Trezeguet struck the winner in extra-time.
Despite boasting attacking quality options like Salah and Trezeguet, Egypt have not been as prolific as they would like. Carlos Queiroz’s men have also not been convincing at the back and can be exploited by a fierce Cameroon forward line.
How the bookies view it
Cameroon have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 5/4 with Unibet to claim the win. A victory for Egypt is valued at 7/2 by William Hill, while SBK is offering odds of 19/10 for a draw.
Head to head
Egypt have a 5-2 advantage with two draws from nine previous matches against Cameroon. However, the hosts claimed a 2-1 victory when both teams met in the final of the 2017 AFCON with Vincent Aboubakar netting the winner.
Players to watch
Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko Ekambi have been among the standout players at the AFCON with both men scoring 11 goals between them. Bet365 is offering 7/5 on Aboubakar to score anytime while also offering 11/4 on Toko Ekambi in the same market.
As always, Egypt be banking on Mohamed Salah, who had a goal and an assist last time out against Morocco. The Liverpool forward is valued at 21/10 by bet365 to score anytime on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Cameroon have conceded in every match at the AFCON and given their quality in attack, both teams could be backed to score at 11/8 with betfair. Over 2.5 goals could also be on the cards at 2/1 with Unibet.
Cameroon have opened the scoring in their last three matches and could be tipped to score first at 4/5 with betway.
This African Nations Cup match between Cameroon and Egypt will be played on Feb 3, 2022 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best Cameroon vs Egypt prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
