Mali vs Equatorial Guinea Prediction & Betting Tips - AFCON

Prediction published on 23/01/2022, 13:48  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 23/01/2022 at 14:48 in AFCON Predictions

Equatorial Guinea are coming off an eventful final group game against Sierra Leone, and will want things a bit more straightforward when they take on Mali in the Round of 16. Mali, on their part had a relatively easy finish to the group stages, beating Mauritania 2-0 to finish top of Group F. That was Mali’s ninth straight unbeaten game and they will definitely be the favorites here. In the group stages, Mali won two matches, against Tunisia and Mauritania, while they drew with Gambia. In their nine unbeaten matches, they managed seven wins and eight clean sheets. They conceded just one goal in the process – that coming in then 1-1 draw with Gambia. A key stat to note is that Mali have met Equatorial Guinea three times, winning all and conceding no goal.

Equatorial Guinea were slow starters to the AFCON 2021 competition but grew into the tournament after losing to Ivory Coast in the opener. They claimed 1-0 wins over reigning champions Algeria and Sierra Leone, who were making a return after missing the competition since 1996. Two straight clean sheets and wins will definitely be a boost for Equatorial Guinea but here they take on a much stronger side than in their last game. One thing about Equatorial Guinea is that they don’t score a lot; they haven’t managed more than a goal in their last six matches. In one of the six they failed to score completely while each of their last eight matches have produced under 2.5 goals. In five of their last eight games, Equatorial Guinea have managed clean sheets, and this is what they will hope for against Mali.