Written by The Caretaker Coach for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
Gabon vs Equatorial Guinea | Sunday 25 January | Bata | 20:00
After a 1-1 draw by the hosts in their opening round fixtures, Equatorial Guinea play their final group game against Gabon, who recorded a solid 2-0 victory on the opening day of AFCON 2015 against Burkina Faso. With a weaker group than a couple of the others, there is a good opportunity for both these sides to progress in a tournament that they would typically be classed as underdogs.
To Win (90mins)
Gabon 19/20
Draw 21/10
Equatorial Guinea 31/10
Gabon
Two wins normally gets you through and this theory will be confirmed with the Gabon team going into this fixture with just the one win thus far. Beating the hosts will take them to six points, enough to make a trip to the knockout stages. Their qualification to this competition had been impressive, finishing unbeaten in their six final fixtures, including a win and a draw against a normally formidable Angola. Nicknamed the Panthers, they currently sit 62nd in the world, with their standout squad member being Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. They have recent confidence in form to prove a stiff threat here and will really only need to concentrate on overcoming the overwhelming home support that their opposition is inevitably going to bring to the fixture.
Equatorial Guinea
Having previously co-hosted this tournament, the relations between these sides may be civil off the field, but this will decide who goes to the knockout stages. The current hosts, as a result of a recent health scare in Morocco, have had their work cut out for them in the first two games. A decent draw result against group leaders Congo was followed by another stalemate against Burkina Faso in midweek. The National Thunder, as they are commonly known, have little in the way of big name players like Aubameyang but they’ll no doubt be calling on home support to pull them as far through this tournament as possible.
VERDICT: Both Teams to Score 5/4
The hosts will do everything in their power to make sure that their last group game, which they will hope is not their last of the tournament, is a memorable one. This may well end up being their toughest fixture. A tense draw could well be on the cards here. However, with this being a do-or-die fixture for both, look to Both Teams to Score for profit.
