The Africa Cup of Nations knockout phase gets underway this weekend, with two of the continent’s heavyweights meeting in the last 16 on Saturday.
Nigeria head into the knockouts on the back of an unbeaten group-stage campaign, while Cameroon scraped through after taking four points from a possible nine.
Focused on the next challenge. Day & Night working hard with eyes fixed on the prize. #soarsupereagles #LetsDoItAgain pic.twitter.com/dCYcrVPbSo— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 24, 2024
Focused on the next challenge. Day & Night working hard with eyes fixed on the prize. #soarsupereagles #LetsDoItAgain pic.twitter.com/dCYcrVPbSo
Only Egypt have won more AFCON titles than Cameroon’s five, with their last triumph coming in 2017. However, unbeaten Nigeria will be confident of adding a fourth trophy to their collection.
Nigeria’s campaign started with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea, with Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen earning his side a point in the opener.
The Super Eagles then secured back-to-back 1-0 victories over Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau to extend their unbeaten streak and reach the last 16.
Although Nigeria have scored a solitary goal in each of their three games so far, they have also conceded just once, keeping two clean sheets for good measure.
Thanks to an impressive 2023, the Super Eagles have now lost just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions, underlining their strength.
As for Cameroon, they drew 1-1 with Guinea in their opening match before suffering a 3-1 defeat to Senegal, meaning they took one point from their first two outings.
Still, the Indomitable Lions managed to finish second in Group C after coming from 2-1 down to beat Gambia 3-2, courtesy of Christopher Wooh’s 91st-minute winner.
Trends show that Cameroon are conceding an average of two goals per game at AFCON, having allowed six goals in three outings so far.
Only three teams – Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Gambia – have conceded more goals than Cameroon, and they have all been eliminated.
Head-to-head: Nigeria have lost just one of their last six meetings with Cameroon across all competitions, picking up three wins in the process.
The H2H statistics also show that Cameroon have managed to win just one of their previous nine matches against Nigeria in normal time.
Team news: Victor Osimhen will lead the line for the Super Eagles, with AC Milan star Samuel Chukwueze expected to provide attacking support.
On the flip side, Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana was dropped by Cameroon last time out, meaning Fabrice Ondoa could continue between the sticks.
When you consider the scoring stats relating to Nigeria and Cameroon, all the signs point towards an eventful encounter on Saturday.
Forebet’s algorithm predicts that Nigeria and Cameroon will serve up a high-scoring draw, with both teams netting over 2.5 goals in normal time.