Hosts Ivory Coast looks to seal a place in the knockouts of the AFCON 2023 with a win over Nigeria in a huge Group A clash.
IVC vs NGA Match Details
Date: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Time: 17:00 (GMT), 22:30 (IST)
Venue: Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
IVC vs NGA Match Preview
Ivory Coast picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the AFCON 2023 opener avoiding any unwanted slip-ups other competition favorites have unfortunately suffered. Seko Fofana gave the hosts an expected lead in the opening four minutes of the match and almost doubled his tally with his shot palmed onto the crossbar. A 58th-minute audacious strike from Jean-Philippe Krasso sealed the deal for Les Elephants who managed to fend off a late surge from the opposition. Jean-Louis Gasset's men have picked up their fourth win in a row with their unbeaten run stretching to seven matches. Ivory Coast will aim for a successive win to book their place in the last-16 early with top-place rivals Nigeria as their next opponent. The hosts carry a slight edge over this meeting overall but both are equal in terms of victory in the Africa Cup of Nations which is set to make this battle a thrilling affair.
Winners of the AFCON in 2013, Nigeria could only manage a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their tournament opener with marksman Victor Osimhen slaving their blushes just two minutes after the opposition took the lead in the 36th minute. The Super Eagles were wasteful throughout the match missing several clear-cut opportunities probably to win the game picking up another worrying result under Jose Peseiro. Although Nigeria have suffered only one loss in seven matches, a pre-tournament friendly defeat to Guinea, they have now gone four games without a victory which is concerning. The side will face their first major test of AFCON 2023 in the form of hosts Ivory Coast having lost the last two meetings in this competition. Repeating the result will put the Super Eagles on the brink of an early exit from the competition with the opposition also unbeaten in 37 of their last 38 group games.
IVC vs NGA Recent Form (all competitions)
IVC: WWWWD
NGA: DLDDD
IVC vs NGA Recent Form (AFCON 2023)
IVC: W
NGA: D
IVC vs NGA Team News
Sebastian Haller remains a doubt for Ivory Coast after missing their win in the competition opener with an ankle injury. Nigeria’s Alhassan Yusuf was stretched off in their opening match and the midfielder could be out for this crucial game.
IVC vs NGA Predicted Lineups
IVC: Y Fofana; Aurier, Boly, Ndicka, Konan; Kessie, Sangare, S Fofana; Boga, Krasso, Bamba
NGA: Nwabali; Aina, Ajayi, Troost-Ekong, Sanusi; Onyeka, Aribo, Iwobi; Simon, Osimhen, Lookman
IVC vs NGA Head to Head (all competitions)
Played: 27
IVC won: 9
Drawn: 10
NGA won: 8
IVC vs NGA Head to Head (AFCON)
Played: 8
IVC won: 3
Drawn: 2
NGA won: 3
IVC vs NGA Dream11 Match Prediction
Ivory Coast might have the edge over Nigeria in this crucial AFCON 2023 battle carrying a rich vein of form.
IVC vs NGA Dream11 Team Top picks
Captain Pick: Victor Osimhen
Vice-captain Picks: Franck Kessie,
Others: Seko Fofana, Ademola Lookman
Our top pick for the IVC vs NGA Dream11 team is Victor Osimhen with six goals scored in his last four games for Nigeria including his first AFCON goal in the last match. The Napoli striker has scored 10 goals in 6 matches of the competition’s qualifiers.
IVC vs NGA Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Y Fofana (7.5)
DEF: Aurier (9), Boly (8.5), Aina (7.5)
MID: Iwobi (8.5), Sangare (9), S Fofana (7.5), Kessie (8.5), Lookman (7.5)
FW: Boga (7.5), Osimhen (9)
Vice-captain: Franck Kessie
Captain: Victor Osimhen
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