A major football tournament involving national teams always creates interest with both hardcore and casual supporters and it will be no different when the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway at the weekend. When it comes to selecting a team to back to win the competition, some will opt for a side which contains the most high-profile names, but the odds offered by many bookmakers do not necessarily reflect how open the 16-team tournament in Africa really is.
In the last nine stagings of the tournament, there have been six different winners, including in 2012 when outsiders Zambia shocked the footballing world by edging out Ivory Coast in the final. Burkina Faso were another underdog to make the final a year later before they lost out to Nigeria, but it is another example of how a minnow can pull off the unthinkable and it is becoming an increasingly regular occurrence in Africa.
Bookmakers can justify placing the tag of favourites on Ivory Coast and as defending champions they will be confident of repeating their success of 2015, but many of the nations involved at the event will believe that they can become the next name to be engraved on the trophy in Libreville on February 5.
Below, we have given you the pros and cons of the leading contenders but do not be put off by the nations offering what appear to be huge odds. The likes of Wales and Iceland showed at Euro 2016 that momentum is everything in tournament football, and that can be the case in Gabon too.
Ivory Coast (4/1) (FIFA ranking 34)
The Ivory Coast can no longer call upon the likes of Didier Drogba and Kolo Toure but that does not stop the defending champions being regarded as the pre-tournament favourites. They possess quality in all areas with Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly marshalling the defence and the likes of Salomon Kalou, Wilfried Bony and Wilfried Zaha all options in attack, and they have prepared for this competition with a 2-1 win over a weakened Sweden side.
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Senegal (11/2) (FIFA ranking 33)
Over their past nine fixtures, Senegal have not scored or conceded more than two goals in a game but the fact that they have won seven of those games shows that they are capable of seeing out close matches, something they will need to do in order to win this tournament for the first time. The performances of Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane and Fenerbahce striker Moussa Sow could be the difference between a place in the quarter-finals or final, but they are also well stocked in central areas and Les Lions de la Teranga will be difficult to beat.
Algeria (7/1) (FIFA ranking 39)
Algeria are blessed with some talented players but it has been over a year since they came out on top against a team who were able to pose any threat to them. That said, tournament football is a different animal to qualifying matches and friendly internationals, and it is tough to back against a team who possess quality in Yacine Brahami, Riyad Mahrez and Islam Brahimi. Don't write off the 2015 quarter-finalists.
Ghana (9/1) (FIFA Ranking 54)
Ghana head into the tournament having failed to win in their last five matches but if they are able to come through a competitive group containing Egypt, Mali and Uganda, confidence will be high ahead of the knockout stages. Asamoah Gyan and the Ayew brothers will take responsibility for their flair in the final third but they are experienced in defensive areas too. This squad is mixed with international veterans and upcoming prospects but it's a combination which could flourish.
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Egypt (10/1) (FIFA Ranking 35)
Despite their odds, Egypt head into this competition having lost just one of their last 10 contests, which includes recent victories over Congo, Ghana and Tunisia. Between 2006 and 2010, Egypt won this competition three successive times but they did not qualify for the following three events. Make of that what you will, but there is no doubting that they can lift the trophy in February with the likes of skillful Mohamed Salah and vastly experienced defensive pair Essam El Hadary and Ahmed Fathy in their side.
Gabon (10/1) (FIFA Ranking 108)
At 108th in the world rankings and after drawing their last three fixtures, Gabon should not be regarded among the favourites to win the trophy but on home soil, anything is possible. The Panthers have only ever reached the quarter-finals of this competition on two occasions but there is a suggestion that they will make the most of their participation in this tournament. They have some big-hitters in their team, too, with Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang regarded as one of the best strikers in the world and Mario Lemina making an impression at Juventus, but it may take something special for them to upset the odds over the next few weeks.
Cameroon (11/1) (FIFA Ranking 62)
Cameroon are unbeaten in their last seven fixtures and pushed a star-studded France team all the way in a 3-2 friendly defeat in May so they have to be considered one of the main threats in this tournament. Their squad does not possess the talent which made at least the quarter-finals on each occasion between 1998 and 2010 but despite their lack of experience, they should not be written off. However, striker Vincent Aboubakar is going to have to be at his best if they are to reach the latter stages.
Morocco (20/1) (FIFA Ranking 57)
Morocco must do without the services of attacker Sofiane Boufal, but they have not lost by more than a 1-0 scoreline since June 2014 so they should be tough to beat in this competition. They lost out to a second-string Finland team earlier this week but there is no reason why they cannot get through to the quarter-finals as runners-up to Ivory Coast in their group. They will be relying on skipper and Juventus defender Medhi Benatia to lead them to glory.
The odds and world-ranking positions for the other nations in the competition are as follows:
Mali (22/1) (FIFA ranking 64)
Tunisia (25/1) (FIFA ranking 36)
DR Congo (28/1) FIFA ranking 49)
Burkina Faso (40/1) (FIFA ranking 53)
Uganda (100/1) (FIFA ranking 73)
Togo (150/1) (FIFA ranking 90)
Zimbabwe (200/1) (FIFA ranking 103)
Guinea-Bissau (250/1) (FIFA ranking 58)
