David Flower
Dailysports's expert
In one of the fifth-round matches of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Madagascar will face Tunisia in Johannesburg on Thursday. Here’s a betting tip with promising odds for this clash.
Match Preview
Under the guidance of Romuald Rakotondrabe, Madagascar has been putting up a strong fight in World Cup qualification, collecting seven points from four games and currently sitting third in Group I. After a narrow defeat to Ghana in the first round, they achieved an emphatic 3-0 away win over Chad, a 2-1 home victory over group leaders Comoros, and a 0-0 draw with Mali at home.
However, their Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign hasn’t been as successful. After losing 0-1 away to Tunisia, Madagascar drew 1-1 at home against both Comoros and Gambia. In their last match in October, they suffered a 0-1 away defeat to Gambia, leaving them at the bottom of the group, trailing Comoros by four points.
The "Carthage Eagles" had a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign, finishing last in their group. After losing to Namibia, Tunisia managed draws with Mali (1-1) and South Africa (0-0), but their two points were insufficient to contend with Namibia for third place.
However, Tunisia has been dominant in World Cup qualifiers, currently leading their group with 10 points from four matches. Their AFCON qualifying campaign also started strong with wins over Madagascar (1-0) and Gambia (2-0) but took an unexpected turn with a 0-1 home loss to Comoros, followed by a 1-1 away draw against the same opponent.
Probable Lineups
- Madagascar: Leiton; Rabemanantsoa, Demoleon, Fontaine, Boto; Raveloson, Amada, Couturier, Ilaimaharitra; Keddy, Ponti
- Tunisia: Memmiche; Ben Hamida, Talbi, Meriah, Bouchniba; Sassi, Laidouni, Msakni, Ben Romdhane, Jaziri, Rafia
Match Facts and Head-to-Head
- Tunisia has defeated Madagascar in all four of their previous encounters.
- Both teams to score (BTTS) has not hit in any of these encounters.
- Only one of Tunisia’s last five matches has seen over 2.5 goals.
Prediction
We believe Tunisia has a solid chance to secure all three points and should win this match. Our betting recommendation is "Tunisia to Win" with odds of 1.60.
