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Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea begin their quest for continental dominance when they square off in the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
Both sides have been drawn in Group A, alongside Guinea-Bissau and host nation Ivory Coast, and will look to begin the tournament as they mean to go on.
Nigeria wrapped up their AFCON preparation last Monday when they fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Guinea in a friendly matchup in the United Arab Emirates.
Prior to that, Jose Peseiro’s men were on a seven-game unbeaten run, picking up four wins and three draws, including successive stalemates against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in their first two games of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Super Eagles, who are ranked 42nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will look to clean the dust off their feet as they begin their quest for a fourth AFCON crown.
Like Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea failed to win their final friendly outing as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Djibouti in Malabo on Tuesday.
However, manager Juan Micha will take the positives from that performance as the Nzalang Nacional have now gone 10 consecutive games without defeat across all competitions since September 2022.
Equatorial Guinea follow Sunday’s group opener with a clash against Guinea-Bissau on January 18, four days before taking on host nation Ivory Coast.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Nigeria have been the dominant side in the history of this fixture, claiming three wins in the previous two meetings between the two nations.
- Their most recent encounter came in the Africa Nations Championship back in January 2018, when the Super Eagles picked up a 3-1 victory in Group C.
- Nigeria have won just one of their last five outings in all competitions while losing once and picking up three draws since October 2033.
- Equatorial Guinea are unbeaten in their last 10 outings across all competitions, claiming five wins and five draws since a 2-0 loss against Cameroon in September 2022.
- Peseiro’s men are unbeaten in their last five competitive outings, picking up three wins and two draws since a 1-0 loss against Guinea-Bissau in last March’s CHAN qualifiers.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea Prediction
Despite the result against Guinea in their final warm-up friendly, Nigeria will feel confident heading into the group opener as they boast a superior and more experienced squad.
We predict a one-sided affair, with the Super Eagles claiming all three points.
Prediction: Nigeria 2-0 Equatorial Guinea
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Nigeria to win
Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - No (There have been fewer than three goals scored in Guinea’s last six matches)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have been fewer than five bookings in Nigeria’s last nine outings)
