Egypt and Ghana square off in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations with both teams seeking their first win in the competition. The Egyptians have a fine record in this fixture and should claim the upper hand over the West Africans, who have not been at their best in recent times.
Egypt barely avoided defeat in their opening Group B fixture as they fought back to earn a 2-2 draw with Mozambique. They needed an injury time winner from the spot after Mostafa Mohamed’s early effort had been cancelled out by the Mozambicans.
Having featured in two finals in the last four editions, Egypt will be keen to finally claim their first title since 2010 and eighth overall. Although they failed to secure the win last Sunday, their performance showed promise having dominated and missed several goalscoring opportunities.
While some of the defending against Mozambique will be worrying to manager Rui Vitoria, Egypt will still be feeling confident having been in good form in recent times. The Pharaohs are unbeaten in their last 15 matches, claiming 12 wins in that run.
Ghana suffered late heartbreak in their opening Group B fixture as they were beaten 2-1 by Cape Verde. They looked to have earned a share of the spoils following Alexander Djiku’s second half equaliser but went on to concede the winner deep into added time.
The West Africans have won the AFCON four times but came to Cote D’Ivoire seeking their first title since 1982. Some of their recent appearances have ended in disappointment as they crashed out in the group stage of the 2021 edition.
Manager Chris Houghton may be disappointed with the defeat to Cape Verde but that result is consistent with Ghana’s recent form. The Black stars have picked up just one win in their last six matches, suffering four defeats in that run.
How the bookies view it
Egypt have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 21/20 by Coral to claim the win. A victory for Ghana is priced at 3/1 by Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 21/10 by William Hill.
Recent Head to head
Egypt have picked up three wins and one draw from the last four matches against Ghana. The most recent meeting was a 1-1 draw during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Players to watch
Much of Egypt’s hopes is riding on the shoulders of Mohamed Salah, who will be tasked with carrying the attacking threat. The Liverpool forward is already off the mark in Ivory Coast and is priced at 7/4 by BoyleSports to find the net on Thursday.
Mohamed Kudus missed Ghana’s opening game with a slight niggle and is expected to return on Thursday. The forward has been in good form for West Ham and can be backed at 24/5 by Unibet to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither team showed much defensive solidity in their opening fixtures which means both teams could be backed to score at 11/8 with Unibet. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 15/8 by bet365.
Egypt grabbed the first goal in their opening fixture and could be set for a repeat at 3/4 with Coral.
This African Nations Cup match between Egypt and Ghana will be played on Jan 18, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Egypt vs Ghana prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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