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It will be an all-North African affair at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo as Egypt and Morocco battle for a place in the semifinals of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
The Pharaohs needed penalties to see off Ivory Coast in the last round after the the two teams failed to score in 120 minutes of football. Mohamed Salah held his nerve to score the winning spotkick and send his side into the quarterfinal.
Achraf Hakimi was the star of the show for Morocco in the previous round. The Atlas Lions needed to come from behind against Malawi, who took a shock lead in their Round of 16 fixture. Youssef El Nesyri equalized on the stroke of halftime before Hakimi sent the Atlas Lions through with a stunning freekick.
A place in the semifinal against either Gambia or hosts Cameroon awaits the winner of this tie.
Egypt vs Morocco Head-to-Head
This will be the 30th meeting between the two sides and Morocco have been vastly superior to their sub-regional rivals.
The Atlas Lions have 14 wins to their name while 12 matches in the past have ended in a share of the spoils. Egypt were victorious on just three occasions.
Their most recent meeting came in a qualifier for the 2018 African Nations Championship when Morocco secured progress with a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Egypt form guide: W-W-W-L-W
Morocco form guide: W-D-W-W-W
Egypt vs Morocco Team News
Egypt
The seven-time African champions have been the most disciplined side in the tournament and do not have any suspension concerns.
However, goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy and midfielder Hamdi Fathi were substituted late on against Ivory Coast due to injuries.
Injuries: Mohamed El-Shennawy, Hamdi Fahti
Suspension: None
Morocco
Ilias Chair is in a race against time to be fit for this game, having suffered an injury against Gabon.
Injury: Ilias Chair
Suspension: None
Egypt vs Morocco Predicted XI
Egypt Predicted XI (4-3-3): Gabaski (GK); Ayman Ashraf, Ahmed Hegazy, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Omar Kamal; Mohamed Elneny, Amr Al-Sulaya, Abdallah El-Said; Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Mostafa Mohamed
Morocco Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Yassine Bounou (GK); Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, Adam Masina; Sofyan Amrabat; Tarik Tissoudali, Selim Amallah, Imran Louza, Sofiane Boufal; Ayoub El Kaabi
Egypt vs Morocco Prediction
Egypt have been one of the most compact teams in the competition and this defensive resoluteness will be put to the test against a Moroccan side that has been expansive.
Historical rivalry also increases the stakes involved and both sets of players are likely to give their all to secure progress to the last four. Egypt have progressively gotten better in the tournament while Morocco have been one of the best teams so far.
The Pharaohs might be slight favorites, but Morocco have been the more consistent side throughout the tournament. We are backing the Atlas Lions to scale though with a narrow victory.
Prediction: Egypt 0-1 Morocco
