A place in the last four is up for grabs as Mali and hosts Ivory Coast square off in an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash. Following their round of 16 win over Senegal, the Ivorians will be brimming with confidence and should have the edge over their West African counterparts.
Mali are in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations after claiming a 2-1 victory over South Africa in the round of 16. They led at the break thanks to an own-goal fro Edmund Tapsoba and a Lassine Sinayoko effort and were able to hold on despite conceding in the second half.
It has been a solid tournament for Mali so far as they are yet to taste defeat after four matches. Their fine form did not just start at the AFCON as they are also unbeaten in their last 11 matches across all competitions.
While not tearing things up in attack Mali have been steady going forward, scoring in all but one game so far at the AFCON. Eric Chelle’s men have also been decent at the back but will be given a stern test by an Ivory Coast side buoyed by a vocal home support.
It has been an interesting AFCON campaign for Ivory Coast, who continue to limp along in the competition. They appeared to lose all hope after losing to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea during the group stage but now find themselves with a chance to make the last four.
Ivory Coast will head into Saturday’s clash with plenty of confidence after doing the unthinkable by knocking defending champions Senegal. Frank Kessie’s late penalty earned them a 1-1 draw before triumphing in the shootout.
After conceding four in their final group fixture, Ivory Coast looked more solid at the back against Senegal, fending off wave after wave of attack. Manager Emerse Fae will be targeting a similar performance while Sebastien Haller and Nicolas Pepe could be given a run-out up front after impressing off the bench.
How the bookies view it
Ivory Coast have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 13/10 by bet365 to claim the win. A victory for Mali is valued at 5/2 by Coral while a draw is set at odds of 2/1 by William Hill.
Head to head
Ivory Coast have a 5-1 advantage with two draws from eight previous matches against Mali. The last meeting between both teams was an AFCON 2019 clash which ended 1-0 in favour of the Ivorians.
Players to watch
Lassine Sinayoko has been the standout player for Mali having scored three goals at the AFCON so far. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to maintain his scoring run at 5/1 with Unibet.
Nicolas Pepe and Sebastien Haller were the difference in the quarter-finals win over Senegal and could be handed their first starts in the competition. Haller is priced at 14/5 by BetVictor to score anytime while William Hill is offering odds of 18/5 on Pepe in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams often have their moments going forward and could be backed to score at 5/4 with bet365. Mali saw over 2.5 goals in their round of 16 clash and a repeat is priced at 39/20 with Unibet.
There have been a few late showings in Ivory Coast’s matches, so the second half could be tipped to produce more goals on Saturday at 6/5 with William Hill.
This African Nations Cup match between Mali and Ivory Coast will be played on Feb 3, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Mali vs Ivory Coast prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
