Cote d'Ivoire vs Sierra Leone Prediction and Betting tips | 16th January 2022
Cote d'Ivoire lock horns with Sierra Leone at the Japoma Stadium in their second group stage fixture of AFCON 2021 on Sunday.
A win or even a draw might be enough for them to secure a place in the next round as they kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea thanks to Max-Alain Gradel's early goal.
They'll be hoping to avoid dropping points in this game as they face reigning champions Algeria in their final group stage fixture on Thursday, which might prove to be a tricky encounter for them.
Sierra Leone defied all expectations as they held Algeria to a goalless draw in their campaign opener, and will be hoping to produce a similar performance against Les Éléphants here.
• The title holders kickoff their campaign with a draw against #TeamSierraLeone 🤝
• #TeamCotedivoire with the W ✅
Here’s how group E looks after Wednesday’s games 👇
#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 https://t.co/VXpps3dBWs
Cote d'Ivoire vs Sierra Leone Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been seven meetings between the two sides across all competitions and Sierra Leone are winless in this fixture at the moment. Cote d'Ivoire have six wins while one game has ended in a draw.
- This will be the first meeting in the final stage of a major international competition between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone.
- Sierra Leone have scored just twice against their eastern rivals, who have found the back of the net 15 times against them.
- This is just the third appearance for Sierra Leone in the competition, who have scored just twice in their two group stage appearances. Cote d'Ivoire are two-time winners of the competition and this is their ninth consecutive appearance in the competition.
Cote d'Ivoire vs Sierra Leone Prediction
Sierra Leone have scored just once in their last six games across all competitions but have conceded just three times, keeping four clean sheets. We can expect a strong defensive performance from them again, with Mohamed Kamara expected to be in the spotlight after his heroics against Algeria.
Cote d'Ivoire have never lost against Leone Star and it is expected that their unbeaten run will continue here. Though they had just two shots on target against Equatorial Guinea, they have enough firepower in Sébastien Haller and Wilfred Zaha to secure a win here.
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#Can2021 : Le onze de départ. #tousderriereleselephants 🙏💪🏽
Face à la Guinée équatoriale https://t.co/ZxByE8huEF
Prediction: Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Sierra Leone
Cote d'Ivoire vs Sierra Leone Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Cote d'Ivoire
Tip 2: Both teams to score - No (Cote d'Ivoire have scored in five of their last six games across all competitions, while Sierra Leone have scored just once in the same period)
Tip 3: Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (All but three games at AFCON 2021 have seen less than 2.5 goals so far)
Tip 4: Max-Alain Gradel to score or assist anytime - Yes (the Sivasspor forward has three goals in his last five appearances for Cote d'Ivoire)