Sparks will fly as Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau go toe-to-toe with each other in the opening game of AFCON 2023. Which of these teams will reign supreme after 90 minutes?
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau overview
This Group A clash will take place on Saturday 13 January, 2023 at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium. Kick-off time is 21:00 GMT +1.
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast head into this match with a ton of confidence. They cruised through a comfortable 5-1 victory over Sierra Leone last week, and have won three matches in a row.
The Elephants have been a difficult team to beat. They have no losses in their last six matches across all competitions, with four wins and two draws. Jean-Louis Gasset's troops will look to extend that unbeaten run by winning their AFCON opener.
Guinea-Bissau
In contrast, Guinea-Bissau suffered a humiliating 6-2 loss to Mali last week. They won just one of their last four games, with a draw and two losses. It'll be interesting to see how Baciro Candé's men will match up against the tournament's hosts.
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau head to head
This will be the second clash between these teams, and their first in over two decades. Their only other encounter was in June 2001, and the Ivorians didn't have too much trouble winning that game (4-1).
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau potential lineups
Jean-Louis Gasset is expected to adopt a 4-3-3 formation for this match. He used the same formation in four of the Elephants' last five matches, and they did not lose any of those games.
On the other hand, a 4-3-3 formation didn't work quite well for Guinea-Bissau last week, so Candé will likely switch to the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in three of the Djurtus' last five matches.
With that in mind, these are our probable Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau lineups:
Ivory Coast
Goalkeeper: Yahia Fofana.
Defenders: Wilfried Singo, Ousmane Diomande, Evan Ndicka, Ghislain Konan.
Midfielders: Seko Fofana, Franck Kessié, Ibrahim Sangaré.
Forwards: Jean-Philippe Krasso, Jérémie Boga, Jonathan Bamba.
Guinea-Bissau
Goalkeeper: Ouparine Djoco.
Defenders: Fali Candé, Opa Sangante, Marcelo Djaló, Jefferson Encada.
Midfielders: Janio Bikel, Alfa Semedo, Dálcio, Carlos Mané, Mamá Baldé.
Forwards: Sori Mané.
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau tactical analysis
Ivory Coast have been able to rely on their solid defence recently, as they conceded just once in their last three games. Their forwards have also done more than their part, scoring 16 times in that three-game stretch.
This will likely be a difficult match for the Djurtus, who saw their defence breached six times in their last match. Candé's side managed to keep one clean sheet in their last five games, whilst scoring a total of six times.
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau prediction
Ivory Coast are the bookies' favourites, and for good reason. Not only do they have the advantage of being the hosts, Jean-Louis Gasset's men have won three games in a row.
While we have no doubt that Guinea-Bissau will give everything they have to win this match, we believe the Ivorians will be too much for them to handle.
That said, anything other than a victory for Ivory Coast would be a surprise. Taking into account that the hosts found the net 16 times in their last three games alone, we are backing Ivory Coast to win & over 2.5 total goals.
Where to watch Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau live
Fans who reside in Ivory Coast can catch all the action live on Supersport, RTI, Canal+ CAN, New World Sport1 and RTI La 3
This match will be available on Canal+ CAN, New World Sport1 and Supersport for those who live in Guinea-Bissau.
These are live streaming options for other countries:
Nigeria: Supersport, StarTimes Sports Premium.
United Kingdom: Sky Go UK, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web, Now TV UK, BBC Three.
United States: fuboTV, beIN Sports.
South Africa SABC Sport, StarTimes Sports Premium, Supersport.
Ghana: GTV Sports+, StarTimes Sports Premium, Supersport.
France: beIN Sports 1.
Also, fans who live in North African countries can catch all the action live on BeIN Sports Max 1, ENTV and beIN Sports 1 AFCON.
