The African Cup of Nations begins this weekend with the hosts Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau in Group A in Saturday’s standalone game. The games then continue on Sunday with the first of three matches seeing Group A continue as Nigeria take on Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria are coming into the tournament as one of the continent’s strongest sides and they’ll be looking to claim their first AFCON title since their win over Burkina Faso a decade ago in 2013. With superstar players all throughout the squad, Nigeria will certainly fancy their chances of progressing into the later stages of the tournament.
Read on for the best tips and booking codes for Sunday’s big clash.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea
Sunday 14 January, 15:00
Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara
Nigeria may be coming into AFCON as one of the most formidable sides in the continent, but their form coming into the tournament has left a lot to be desired. Just one win in their last five games in all competitions marks a tough spell for Jose Peseiro’s side, with disappointing draws to Zimbabwe and Lesotho in World Cup qualifying while also losing to Guinea in a preparation friendly for the upcoming tournament.
The Super Eagles were handed further bad news in the days building up the tournament as Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface, one of the most in-form players in Europe, has been ruled out of the tournament with injury. While this comes as a huge blow, attacking options that include captain Ahmed Musa, Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze and star striker Victor Osimhen, leaves them with more than enough cover.
Despite the strength of Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea will likely prove to be no easy task. Los Elefantes have qualified out of their group on all of their last three appearances at the tournament, knocking out sides such as Senegal, Burkina Faso and Algeria along the way. The furthest they have gone in the tournament is the quarter finals in both 2012 and 2022 where they have been knocked out both times by eventual finalists. With this, they’ll be hoping to lay down a marker in their opening game against Nigeria as they look to go further than ever before.
Equatorial Guinea also come into this game in much superior form than opponents Nigeria, recording no losses in any of their last 10 outings across all competitions.
Bet9ja Tips
Nigeria will be coming into this tournament looking to rectify both their poor form of late and their failure to impress in the tournament since their victory back in 2013. With a squad containing a majority of players who ply their trade in Europe, they will undoubtedly fancy their chances this year and they’ll be looking to start their tournament with all three points.
These two sides have faced one another on three occasions before this match, and Equatorial Guinea have lost all three. While there is no doubt that they will make this a tough game for Nigeria, we expect that the Super Eagles will win this one come the end of the game and you can get odds of them to do so of 1.46 with Bet9ja. With the firepower Nigeria possess, the nation will be hoping for a comfortable win, with a Nigeria win and over 2.5 goals priced up at 2.64.
Victor Osimhen is one of the favourites to end the tournament as top scorer and with two goals in his last four appearances for his club he comes into this one in great form. You can get odds of Osimhen to score anytime of 2.10 with Bet9ja.
Booking Codes:
Nigeria win & Nigeria win with over 2.5 goals: 5ZSWT92
Osimhen to score anytime: 5ZSWYPG
Osimhen and Iheanacho to score anytime: 5ZSX272
