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Tunisia welcome Equatorial Guinea to the Stade Olympique de Radès in their opening fixture of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Thursday.
The home team have been regular participants in the continental competition since 1994. Equatorial Guinea have made just three appearances in the finals of the competition. Both sides made it to the quarter-finals of the 2021 edition of the competition.
Libya and Botswana are the other two sides in Group J, so Tunisia are the favorites to finish as table toppers.
Tunisia vs Equatorial Guinea Head-to-Head
The two sides have crossed paths seven times in competitive fixtures thus far. Aigles de Carthage have been the better side in this fixture, leading 4-2 in wins while just one game has ended in a draw.
They met in the qualifiers for the 2021 edition of the competition, with Tunisia securing a win in the two meetings in the qualifiers. They last met in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture in November, with Nzalang Nacional securing a 1-0 win in that match.
Tunisia form guide (all competitions): D-W-L-W-L
Equatorial Guinea form guide (all competitions): D-L-L-W-W
Tunisia vs Equatorial Guinea Team News
Tunisia
A 26-man squad has been named for the three games Tunisia will play in June. Wahbi Khazri, Ellyes Skhiri and Dylan Bronn are the three notable absentees for them on account of injuries.
Injured: Wahbi Khazri, Ellyes Skhiri, Dylan Bronn
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Equatorial Guinea
Juan Micha has named a 25-man squad for the two qualifying games scheduled to take place in June. Esteban Orozco has been suspended by CAF and remains unavailable for selection.
Javier Akapo, Saul Coco, Carlos Akapo and Iban Salvador Edú have picked up injuries and will play no part in this game.
Injured: Saul Coco, Carlos Akapo, Iban Salvador Edú, Javier Akapo
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Esteban Orozco
Tunisia vs Equatorial Guinea Predicted XIs
Tunisia (4-3-3): Bechir Ben Saïd (GK); Mohamed Dräger, Ali Maâloul, Bilel Ifa, Ali Abdi; Ferjani Sassi, Aïssa Laïdouni, Anis Ben Slimane; Taha Yassine Khenissi, Seifeddine Jaziri, Youssef Msakni
Equatorial Guinea (4-2-3-1): Jesús Owono (GK); Marvin Anieboh, Cosme Anvene, Miguel Ángel Mayé, Basilio Ndong; Pablo Ganet, Rubén Belima; Salomón Obama, Santiago Eneme, Jannick Buyla; Dorian Jr.
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Tunisia vs Equatorial Guinea Prediction
Both sides have been great defensively in their recent fixtures, with Tunisia keeping four clean sheets in their last six games while Equatorial Guinea also have four clean sheets in their last seven games.
They have struggled a bit in the final third, with Tunisia scoring six goals in their last seven games and the visiting side scoring just three goals in the same period.
We expect the game to be closely contested but, given the home advantage for Tunisia, they should be able to eke out a narrow win here.
Prediction: Tunisia 1-0 Equatorial Guinea
