AFCON – Ivory Coast vs Algeria: Betting Preview

The Africa Cup of Nations clash at Stade Japoma on Thursday sees home team Ivory Coast battling it out for three points with Algeria. It has not been a satisfactory tournament so far for the defending champions as they shared points in their last game with Sierra Leone. They must attempt to beat their opponents tonight to avoid a painful early exit from the AFCON.

Whereas, the Elephants are leading Group E with four points and will look to extend their lead and step into the next round tonight.

Our tip

Stats and facts for Ivory Coast and Algeria in Africa Cup of Nations.

Current form — Ivory Coast v. Algeria

Ivory Coast tough to break down

Ivory Coast will be out to extend their fine run of results lately. Ivory Coast have seen it all in their last 3 matches, which brought home 4 points. Against Cameroon, they came out empty-handed in a 1-0 defeat, whereafter they avenged themselves in a 1-0 win against Equatorial Guinea. Their latest match saw them sharing the spoils in a 2-2 draw against Sierra Leone.

Algeria hope to boost points tally

It has been a rollercoaster couple of weeks for Algeria with performances showing little sign of stability. Algeria have seen it all in their last 3 matches, which brought home 4 points. They claimed a 3-0 win against Ghana, before drawing 0-0 with Sierra Leone. This little streak came to an end when Equatorial Guinea proved too strong in a 0-1 defeat for Algeria.

Ivory Coast v. Algeria — fixture history

The most recent outing in the Africa Cup of Nations between Ivory Coast and Algeria took place in February 2015. The match failed to produce a winner, with the score reading 1-1 after the final whistle. Depending on your betting strategy, another draw will no doubt spike up your next accumulator. Ivory Coast enter the match against Algeria with a 1-1-2 record in their previous 4 encounters in the Africa Cup of Nations. This amounts to a 25% winning ratio for Ivory Coast, with Algeria victorious in 50% of the last 4 encounters.

Current table in the Africa Cup of Nations

According to the Africa Cup of Nations table, the difference between the two teams is currently only 3 points. This round 3 clash is of great importance to both teams and their position in the league table. Algeria have an opportunity to catch up with Ivory Coast, who are currently number 1 on 4 points. However, the hosts will surely try to grab all three points themselves on Thursday, thus extending the lead in the standings.

Top goalscorer

Looking at the goalscorer market, it would seem a good idea to side with Max-Alain Gradel. He is one of the Ivory Coast players, who is showing decent form now. He managed to find the back of the net 2 times in his most recent outing. Surely, he will want to add more goals against Algeria.

The visitors will be looking to in-form Riyad Mahrez to find the net once again, as he has been their main man recently. Riyad Mahrez netted 3 goals for Algeria in their latest matches.