Match Preview: Ivory Coast 0-0 Egypt Prediction and Betting Tips | Africa Cup of Nations

Ivory Coast – Egypt Prediction Prediction and Tips for today, January 26, 2022

Football: AFRICA: Africa Cup of Nations – Play Offs – 1/8-finals
Kick-off: 17:00 Ivory Coast – Egypt
Tip: Over 1.5 Goals
Odds: 1.66
Bookmaker: Bet365
Match Result: 0:0 LOST

Ivory Coast – Egypt Match Preview

• Arguably the most competitive clash on paper across the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 stage sees two former champions clash as two-time victors Ivory Coast meet seven-time winners Egypt. It’s been a promising start for Ivory Coast, who went unbeaten during the group stage and are yet to even fall behind in a game, topping their group with ease after comfortably dispatching reigning champions Algeria in their final outing (3-1).
• Only host nation Cameroon scored more than the Ivory Coast’s six goals following the conclusion of the group stage, which makes them one of just three sides averaging 2+ goals per match ahead of the knockout phase. However, this game presents a much larger challenge as they’ve only managed to score at least twice across just two of their last eight AFCON knockout games (W5, L3).
• Unlike the Ivory Coast, Egypt have struggled to bury their chances so far, though they’ve proven to be good at squeezing our results, winning two group games by a 1-0 scoreline to qualify thanks to some solid defensive work. The ‘Pharaohs’ would love a repeat of the last AFCON knockout H2H, a barnstorming 4-1 success, although they’ve only scored that many goals twice over the past year, against lowly Sudan and Comoros.
• Fans will hope for some more entertainment from this heavyweight clash following a run of five straight Egypt games that have produced under 1.5 total goals. It may potentially take just one moment of magic to split the sides in this clash though as each of Egypt’s last three AFCON knockout games ended 1-0 (W2, L1).
• Players to watch: Arsenal and Ivory Coast star Nicolas Pepé has an admirable 33% conversion rate at this tournament, bagging two goals from six shots on target. His Premier League counterpart Mohamed Salah has scored one of Egypt’s only two goals, but has made a goal contribution in 54% of his AFCON tournament appearances (G5, A2).
• Hot stat: While outsiders for this, Egypt are unbeaten in 11 of the 14 all-time competitive H2Hs (W8, D3, L3).