Senegal vs Ivory Coast
African Nations Cup, KO: 20:00 Jan 29, 2024, Stade Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro
Senegal continue the defence of their Africa Cup of Nations title as they battle hosts Ivory Coast in a round of 16 clash. The Ivorians have been far from convincing in their home tournament and should struggle against Senegal, who look on course to retain the title.
It has been a solid title defence so far for Senegal, who appear head and shoulders above everyone else. The Teranga Lions are the only team to qualify from the group stage with the maximum nine points and almost appear to be playing better than they did in 2022.
Senegal head into Monday’s clash off the back of a 2-0 victory over Cameroon in their final group stage fixture. Abdoulaye Seck opened the scoring midway through the second half while Iliman Ndiaye netted the winner on the stroke of 90 minutes.
Manager Aliou Cisse appears to have loosened the strings a little with Senegal seemingly playing with more freedom. They were among the leading scorers in the group stage with eight goals in three matches and have conceded just once so far.
Ivory Coast barely crept into the round of 16 after qualifying as one of the best third placed teams. Since the 2-0 victory in the opening fixture, they have gone one to lose their last two group stage fixtures.
The Elephants are coming off one of their worst defeats in AFCON history as they were beaten 4-0 by surprise package Equatorial Guinea in their final group fixture. They were vulnerable on the break and were constantly taken apart by the rampant Equatorial Guineans.
Ivory Coast have had a few problems in the tournament, one of which is a lack of cutting edge in attack, having failed to score in their last two matches. They have also been shaky at the back and are susceptible to fast breaks as evidenced by the defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
Head to head
Senegal have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 29/20 by Coral to claim the win. A victory for Ivory Coast is valued at 23/10 by Paddy Power while William Hill is offering odds of 21/10 for a draw.
Head to head
Ivory Coast have a 3-2 edge with one draw from six previous matches against Senegal. However, the Senegalese claimed a 1-0 victory in the last meeting between both sides back in January 2023.
Players to watch
Senegal have spread the goals across the team but Sadio Mane and Ismaila Sarr are often involved in most of their attacking moves. Mane could be backed to score anytime at 14/5 with BetVictor, who is also offering 3/1 on Sarr in the same market.
Senegal have also impressed at the back, keeping clean sheets in six of their last seven matches across all competitions, a run stretching back to October. Kalidou Koulubaly remains at rock in defence and can lead the reigning champions to another clean sheet at 29/20 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Senegal have won to nil in two of their three matches at the AFCON and could be set for a repeat at 5/2 with BoyleSports. Having scored multiple goals in each of their matches, a -1 handicap could be considered at 4/1 with bet365.
Senegal have scored in both halves in two of their three matches and could be set for a similar pattern at 7/2 with Unibet.
This African Nations Cup match between Senegal and Ivory Coast will be played on Jan 29, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Senegal vs Ivory Coast prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
