Nigeria take on Guinea in Alexandria on Wednesday as the second round of AFCON 2019 group matches gets under way.
Nigeria got off to a winning start against Burundi whilst Guinea claimed a point against Madagascar in their opening match.
Odion Ighalo’s tidy second-half finish was enough to claim the victory for Nigeria against Burundi. Both sides had 15 goal attempts in an end-to-end encounter but Nigeria came away with all three points.
77' Minute strike from @ighalojude separates the two sides in Alexandria. Nigeria 1-0 Burundi #SoarSuperEagles #team9jaStrong #TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/NFl2a9Y9YP— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) June 22, 2019
77' Minute strike from @ighalojude separates the two sides in Alexandria. Nigeria 1-0 Burundi #SoarSuperEagles #team9jaStrong #TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/NFl2a9Y9YP
Nigeria had 65% of the ball possession and will be hoping for a similar level of dominance on Wednesday.
Guinea’s first match ended in a 2-2 draw. They took the lead in the 34th minute when Dijon forward Sory Kaba lifted the ball over the goalkeeper and slotted home into an empty net.
They then conceded twice early in the second half before Francois Kamano converted a 66th minute penalty to secure a draw for his side.
Guinea had 15 shots to Madagascar’s 6 and also had the majority of the possession. They will be disappointed not to have come away with the win and will be eager to bounce back against Nigeria.
Star man Naby Keita came off the bench to make his first appearance since May 1st. The Liverpool midfielder has been out with a thigh injury but head coach Paul Put will be hoping that Keita will be fit to start against Nigeria.
Nigeria forward Samuel Kalu collapsed in training after suffering from severe dehydration. The 21-year-old Bordeaux player has reportedly recovered well and should feature against Guinea.
Nigeria are favorites to top Group B and can qualify for the round of 16 with a victory on Wednesday. They undoubtedly have the strongest squad in the group and one of the best at the tournament.
English Premier League players Alex Iwobi (Arsenal) and Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) were stand out performers in the opening match and could cause Guinea some real problems.
The last meeting between these two sides came in 2011 and ended in a 2-2 draw. There has been a total of 17 meetings between the teams, with both claiming five wins each. Nigeria are the favorites this time around certainly have a more complete squad.
Nigeria are expected to claim the victory against Guinea and book their place in the last 16 of the competition.