Today sees a wide range of football take place across the globe, from the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup to the English FA Cup and Spain’s Copa del Rey.
Aside from Nigeria vs South Africa, which is previewed here, AFCON hosts Ivory Coast take on DR Congo in the other semi-final, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao face up in the Copa del Rey, and Lyon and Lille meet in round 16 of the Coupe de France.
Read on as we pick out our top tips and booking codes for today’s upcoming games:
Ivory Coast vs DR Congo
Hosts Ivory Coast will be coming into this game hoping they can move into their first final since winning the tournament back in 2015. The Elephants have taken the hard route to get into this semi-final with them only winning once in normal time so far this tournament, with this coming in the opening game of the group stage. Since then Ivory Coast have lost twice in the group, managing to get through as one of the best third-place finishers, and then beaten Senegal and Mali on penalties and during extra-time.
DR Congo have also gone through tough times in this tournament, recording their first win in regular time in their previous game against Guinea. This could prove to be helpful for the DR Congo with their players likely to be in better condition than their opponents thanks to not having to play an extra 30 minutes in their last game.
However, we believe that the home support will certainly be enough to keep the Ivory Coast players going for the full match and we believe that the host nation will win this one and progress into the final.
Ivory Coast to win, 2.23 (90 minutes only)
Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao come into their semi-final with the knowledge that the winner of their game will move into the final as the favourite to eventually lift the title. While there is no guarantee they will go on to win the final, the chance of being favourites will certainly motivate the players coming into this one.
Atletico Madrid have already beaten Real Madrid and Sevilla in their run to the semi-final, while Bilbao beat Barcelona thanks to two extra-time goals from the Williams’ brothers in their quarter-final match.
Both sides are in fantastic form, with Atletico Madrid losing just twice in their last 10 while Bilbao have lost just once in theirs. However, with the first leg of this semi-final taking place at the Estadio Civitas Metropolitano we expect that Atletico Madrid will be wanting to make the most of their home advantage. With Atletico being so good at home this season, winning all of their home games except from one draw with Getafe, we expect that they will be victorious in this one.
Atletico Madrid to win, 2.02
Lyon vs Lille
Jonathan David has become Lille’s talisman in recent seasons with the Canadian striker ending as his club’s top scorer in both the last two seasons. While his numbers have seen a drop from his phenomenal season last year, scoring just eight in 20 games so far this season compared to his eventual tally of 24 in 37 last season, David is starting to hit form for his side once again.
The striker has scored nine goals in his last 10 appearances for his club across all competitions, including two in the 4-0 win against Clermont in the last game. With Lille now coming up against a Lyon side that has been extremely poor this season as they find themselves in 15th, having conceded 33 goals in just 20 games, we expect that David will make the most of Lyon’s poor defence and get on the scoresheet once again.
Jonathan David to score anytime, 2.70 (90 minutes only)
Best Booking Code: 66FZZ22 (odds: 12.16)
AFCON: 66G255S
2 Comments
by Bukar
I agree with you bro
by Alimoore
I love these analyses