AFCON 2015, Group B | Monday 26 January | Ebebiyin | 20:00
Tunisia were considered a dead certainty to progress with the three other mediocre sides making up Group B. Congo DR went through a rocky qualification process, and this fixture seems a dead rubber on paper, but depending on where these teams sit going into what could a final swansong in AFCON 2015, you never what it could dish up.
To Win (90mins)
DR Congo 22/10
Draw 19/10
Tunisia 27/20
DR CONGO
I still cast my mind back their qualification game against Ivory Coast, where The Leopards of DR Congo served up an almost fairytale 4-3 win over Ivory Coast.
Since this historic result, things haven’t quite been as rosy for them, after their only win thereafter, against Sierra Leone, was hit with match fixing scandals that dampened it credibility.
After an opening draw against Zambia, they’ll be looking to repeat this effort against Cape Verde.
If they can go into their final game on two points or more, it provide real opportunity for progression.
Tunisia will be their sternest test, and they’ll need to break their record of losing every fixture against them in previous history. Nothing is impossible, but the odds are heavily stacked against them in this one.
TUNISIA
The Tunisian Eagles will have been Group B trump card all along, and will no doubt go into this final group game unbeaten.
Ranked 22 in the world, means they’d be stiff competition for a lot of sides in this tournament, let alone a team like DR Congo.
You have to go back to a friendly against highly rated Belgium to find the north Africans last defeat, and run of nine games without a loss will bring heaps of confidence to Tunisia.
This run included two wins against arch rivals, Egypt, to add to their evident bullish approach.
They’ll head into this fixture looking to replicate their recent form, and there is nothing to suggest this shouldn’t be possible.
Betting Verdict: TUNISIA 27/20
Whether or not DR Congo go into this one with a chance of qualification or not, I cant see it affecting their hopes of getting a result in this fixture. Stranger things have happened, but Tunisia look far too strong on paper, and in past head-to-head matches, to provide any consideration outside of the obvious. In knockout round momentum is paramount, so despite what Tunisia may or may not need out of this final fixture, look to them to produce what it takes to get the three points.
Written by The Caretaker Coach for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
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