Ivory Coast vs Nigeria
African Nations Cup, KO: 17:00 Jan 18, 2024, Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara
Ivory Coast will be looking to build on their opening day victory as they battle Nigeria in their second Group B fixture at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Nigerians have not been at their best lately but can hold out for a draw against the hosts.
Ivory Coast made a solid enough start to their AFCON campaign as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Guinea Bissau in their opening fixture. Goals in each half from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso were enough to give them a comfortable win.
Manager Jean-Louis Gasset will be pleased with his team’s defensive display as they prevented Guinea Bissau from registering an attempt on target. Having faced very little attacking threat in the opening fixture, Ivory Coast will consider Thursday’s clash their first big test.
The victory over Guinea Bissau is in keeping with Ivory Coast’s recent form as they are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches. However, they have mostly faced minnows like Comoros and Seychelles and were held to draws by quality opposition like Morocco and South Africa.
Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their opening Group A fixture at the AFCON. They fell behind but struck back before the break through Victor Osimhen and despite having numerous chances, could not find the winner.
It was not a vintage Super Eagles performance, but manager Jose Peseiro will feel his team should have won. They squandered multiple glorious opportunities and struggled to find a way past an inspired Jesus Owono in goal for Equatorial Guinea.
Although Nigeria are now unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches, that result continues a recent string of stalemates. They have been held four times in that run, including three draws in the last four matches.
How the bookies view it
Ivory Coast have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 23/20 by Unibet to claim the win. A victory for Nigeria is valued at 29/10 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 21/10 by William Hill.
Head to head
Ivory Coast have a 4-2 advantage from six previous matches against Nigeria. The last meeting between both teams was a friendly in 2015 which ended 1-0 in favour of the Ivorians.
Players to watch
Jean-Philippe Krasso should continue to lead the line for Ivory Coast after getting off the mark in the opening fixture. The striker could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 3/1 with Paddy Power.
Although he did get on the score sheet, Victor Osimhen was one of the major culprits in the opening fixture as he missed several chances. The striker will be keen to make amends and is priced at 11/4 by BoyleSports to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Ivory Coast and Nigeria have quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 11/8 with bet365. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 39/20 at Unibet while BetVictor is offering odds of 19/4 for over 3.5 goals.
With a closely fought encounter expected on Thursday, a halftime draw could be considered at 10/11 with bet365.
This African Nations Cup match between Ivory Coast and Nigeria will be played on Jan 18, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Ivory Coast vs Nigeria prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
