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Mauritania and Gambia square off at the Limbe Stadium on Wednesday in their first group stage encounter at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Lions of Chinguetti have qualified for only the second time in history, having made their tournament debut in the 2019 edition in Egypt.
They bowed out in the group stages without a single win and will be hoping for a better result here, although it won't be easy against the group's big guns, Tunisia and Mali.
Gambia, meanwhile, are all set to make their tournament debut with this game, having secured a historic maiden qualification.
Mauritania vs Gambia Head-To-Head
The sides have clashed 20 times in history, with Mauritania winning on five occasions and losing eight times.
However, their last meeting, coming in March 2016 for an AFCON qualifier, ended in a goalless stalemate.
Mauritania Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-L-D-D
Gambia Form Guide (all competitions): L-W-W-L-L
Mauritania vs Gambia Team News
Mauritania
The Lions of Chinguetti have called up a young and inexperienced 28-man squad for the tournament, headlined by former Fulham striker Aboubakar Kamara.
Head coach Didier Da Rosa has also included a 16-year-old player in his team, Beyatt Lekweiry.
Babacar Diop, Mbacke Ndiay and Mohamed El Mokhtar are some of the local players called up to the squad.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Gambia
Bologna forward Musa Barrow is the biggest star in the Scorpions' similarly inexperienced squad.
The side's all-time appearance-maker Pa Modou Jagne has also been called up.
Barrow may be joined by Assan Ceesay, the top-scorer in the Gambian team with 11 goals in 20 games, in the attack.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Mauritania vs Gambia Predicted XI
Mauritania (4-2-3-1): Babacar Diop; Aly Abeid, Diadie Diarra, El Hassen Houbeibib, Karamoko Dembele; Mohamed Yali, Guessouma Fofana; Ibrehima Coulibaly, Souleymane Doukara, Adama Ba; Aboubakar Kamara.
Gambia (4-4-2): Modou Jobe; Noah Sundberg, Omar Colley, Bubacarr Sanneh, Pa Madou Jagne; Sulayman Marreh, Ebrima Sohna, Mohammed Mbye, Bubacarr Trawally; Musa Barrow, Assan Ceesay.
Mauritania vs Gambia Prediction
Mauritania's form has gone off the boil since confirming their place in the competition.
Gambia haven't covered themselves in much glory either but have a decent attacking arsenal that can cause their North West African rivals plenty of problems.
We're putting our money on the Scorpions to come through with all three points.
Prediction: Mauritania 1-2 Gambia
