James Eastham recommends his best bets as two of the tournament heavyweight sides prepare for their Last 16 clashes on Tuesday…
Senegal to struggle for goals again
Senegal v Cape Verde
Tue, 16:00 GMT
Live on Sky Sports
Three games into the tournament and we’re still none the wiser about how good this Senegal side are.
Their starting line-up is packed with star names yet they trudged through the group phase with a trio of unimpressive performances.
Aliou Cisse’s side needed a Sadio Mane penalty deep into injury-time to claim a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in their opening game. They then drew 0-0 against Guinea and Malawi to claim Group B top spot with a tally of just five points.
The Lions of Teranga are still second favourites to win the tournament but that’s largely because they’ve landed in the easier side of the draw during the knockout phase.
Cape Verde will have watched Senegal’s games with interest, and noted that if you’re defensively well-organised against Cisse’s side you stand a good chance of frustrating them for big chunks of the game.
It would be therefore no surprise to see Cape Verde take a defensive approach here and see how long they can hang on.
Were Senegal to get an early goal, Cape Verde would obviously have to take risks and the game might open up.
Should that happen, there are no guarantees Cape Verde would be able to breach a Senegal back line that has yet to concede a goal at the tournament, and boasts Edouard Mendy in goal, plus the likes of Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and PSG’s Abdou Diallo in defence.
All evidence points towards this being a low-scoring encounter. We’re happy to back Under 2.0 on the Goal Lines market. With this selection, you’ll make a profit if the game has no goals or one goal in 90 minutes, and get your stakes back if the game has two goals in 90 minutes.
At the time of writing, 20 games in the tournament have had no goals or one goal in 90 minutes, eight have had exactly two goals, and only 10 have had three or more goals.
Morocco to cruise into quarter-finals
Morocco v Malawi
Tue, 19:00 GMT
Live on Sky Sports
Morocco have been one of the tournament’s top sides so far and ought to be too strong for underdogs Malawi on Tuesday evening.
At the time of writing The Atlas Lions are 6.05/1 third favourites to be crowned champions after some impressive displays during the group phase.
They beat Ghana 1-0 and Comoros 2-0 before an entertaining 2-2 draw against Gabon rounded off their group phase.
The fact that Morocco – unlike many other teams – scored in all three of their group games will give them confidence as they head into a clash against a Malawi side whose defending was unconvincing at times during the opening round.
Malawi lost 1-0 to Guinea, then beat Zimbabwe 2-1 before earning a creditable 0-0 draw against Senegal in their final group game on a day where both sides were happy to settle for a point.
The fact that Malawi’s only win came against one of the tournament’s weakest sides in Zimbabwe shows they’re likely to struggle against Morocco.
Morocco’s ranks include class performers such as PSG’s right-back Achraf Hakimi – who scored a stunning long-range effort against Gabon – and ex-Southampton playmaker Sofiane Boufal, who has two goals so far.
Morocco are 1.351/3 to win so you may want to look at other markets in order to back them at better odds.
We prefer the Asian Handicap. With our selection at close to evens, you’ll make a profit if Morocco win by two or more goals in 90 minutes, and lose only half your stakes if they win by just one goal. For a full guide to Asian Handicap betting, click here.
PREM WATCH
All eyes will be on Senegalese forward Sadio Mane. The Liverpool man has scored his team’s only goal at the tournament so far – from the penalty spot – and will be their go-to player here as well.
When the Anytime Goalscorer market opens, the 29-year-old will be available at odds of close to 2.111/10. Given he takes the spot-kicks and will also be dangerous in front of goal in open play, Mane will attract plenty of interest.
Source: BetFair Tips
