DR Congo and Guinea will battle it out for a place in the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024). As these teams go head-to-head, it'll be interesting to see who will emerge victorious when all is said and done.
DR Congo vs Guinea overview
This quarter-final clash will take place at the Stade de la Paix on Friday February 2. Kick-off time is 9 pm WAT.
DR Congo
DR Congo's path to the quarter-final has been a tricky one. They played out three consecutive draws in the group stages, finishing second in Group F.
Sebastien Desabre's troops proceeded to meet Egypt in the Round of 16, where they won on penalties.
Although DR Congo have not been able to win any game at the end of regulation time, they haven't lost either.
Guinea
Even though they were the favourites in their Round to 16 clash with Equatorial Guinea, Guinea managed to escape by the skin of their teeth.
Kaba Diawara's side had a one-man advantage for almost 45 minutes, and they scored the winning goal just moments before the final whistle, after their opponents had missed a penalty.
Guinea now have a challenging task ahead of them, as they take on a DR Congo side they haven't beaten in 20 years.
DR Congo vs Guinea head to head
DR Congo and Guinea first met in a friendly game in March 1968. They've clashed a total of seven times, and DR Congo have more wins (4) than they have draws (1) and losses (2) combined vs Guinea.
Interestingly, recent skirmishes between these outfits have been one-sided. While DR Congo had no wins in their first three meetings with Guinea (D1, L2), they came out on top the last four times these teams squared off against each other.
The most recent encounter between DR Congo and Guinea took place in November 2017, when they were paired in the same qualifying group for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
DR Congo vs Guinea potential lineups
On the positive side, there are no absentees for DR Congo ahead of this match.
Desabre's men are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Rodez's Lionel M'pasi starting in goal.
Likewise, Kaba Diawara will be pleased to have a healthy group of players to choose from. It's worth keeping an eye out for Mohamed Bayo, who scored twice in four matches so far.
Diawara will likely adopt a 4-4-2 formation for this match, with Bayo and Aguibou Camara leading the charge.
On that note, these are our probable DR Congo vs Guinea lineups:
DR Congo
Goalkeeper: Lionel M'Pasi.
Defenders: Gedeon Kalulu, Chancel Mbemba, Dylan
Batubinsika, Arthur Masuaku.
Midfielders: Théo Bongonda, Samuel Moutoussamy,
Charles Pickel.
Forwards: Meschack Elia, Cedric Bakambu, Yoane
Wissa.
Guinea
Goalkeeper: Ibrahim Koné.
Defenders: Issiaga Sylla, Julian Jeanvier, Mouctar
Diakhaby, Ibrahim Diakité.
Midfielders: Sekou Sylla, Amadou Haidara, Mory
Konate, Morgan Guilavogui.
Forwards: Aguibou Cámara, Mohamed Bayo.
DR Congo vs Guinea tactical analysis
DR Congo have strung up a four-match unbeaten run, and all four games were tied after 90 minutes.
While they haven't particularly been a high-scoring side, Desabre's side have not conceded many goals either. They scored three times in four matches, conceding three times in the process.
Guinea, on the other hand, have two wins, a draw and a loss in four matches. They've done fairly well defensively, keeping three clean sheets in their last five matches.
DR Congo vs Guinea prediction
Both teams have been involved in a lot of low-scoring matches lately.
While Guinea's last six matches featured less than three goals, DR Congo saw 12 of their last 13 matches go below the 2.5 goal mark.
For this reason, our DR Congo vs Guinea prediction is under 2.5 total goals.
Where to watch DR Congo vs Guinea live
There are a few TV options for fans who reside in DR Congo. These include RTNC, New World Sport1 and AfroSport TV.
Meanwhile Guineans can tune into RTG and Canal+ for live coverage of this match.
