Preview:Congo DR vs. Gabon - prediction, team news, lineups

Congo DR welcome Gabon to Stade des Martyrs on Saturday in their opening qualifying match for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The teams have been drawn in Group L of the qualifiers, where both Mauritania and Sudan also await in the battle for a place at the next AFCON finals.

Match preview

Congo DR will take to the field for the first time since a damaging 4-1 defeat against Morocco in the second leg of their FIFA World Cup playoff tie.

Two goals from Azzedine Ounahi either side of Tarik Tissoudali's strike left Hector Cuper's men with too much to do before Achraf Hakimi put the final nail in the coffin.

After closing out 2021 with consecutive victories, the Leopards remain without a win from any of their three outings since the turn of the year.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have lost just one of the last six meetings between the teams, recording three wins and two draws in the other five encounters.

However, Saturday's hosts are unbeaten in five of their last six matches on home turf and will back themselves to buck what is fast becoming a woeful trend in this weekend's fixture.

Gabon will take to the pitch for the first time since they were dumped out of the last AFCON tournament on penalties in the first knockout stage.

Patrice Neveu's men battled hard to even take the tie to a shootout in the first place, but their efforts on the day eventually proved to be futile.

More worryingly for Les Pantheres, they have now won only one game away from home since 2019 - a run that spans through 10 matches across all competitions.

Looking to reach successive AFCON finals for the fourth time in their history, securing all three points would represent a significant feather in the cap for Saturday's visitors.

Team News

Gabon's record goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has announced his retirement from international football off the back of 30 goals for his nation.

Bruno Ecuele Manga is set to close in on an impressive milestone as he currently sits just five appearances away from racking up a century for the visitors.

Guelor Kanga put on an attacking masterclass in the last edition of this weekend's fixture, and the 31-year-old is one to keep an eye on.

Cedric Bakambu has been omitted from Congo's latest squad despite finding the back of the net in his final game for Marseille during the just-concluded Ligue 1 season.

Meanwhile, Yoane Wissa will be looking to continue his decent start to international football which has seen him score twice in four games.

Congo DR possible starting lineup:

Kiassumbua; Mpeko, Tisserand, Muzinga, Mukoko; Akolo, Moutoussamy, Kayamba; Bolingi, Elia, Wissa

Gabon possible starting lineup:

Amonome; Obissa, Ecuele Manga, Palun; Obiang, Poko, Oyono, Bouanga; Kanga, Allevinah, Boupendza

We say: Congo DR 1-1 Gabon

The sides are missing significant attacking options coming into this one which could make for a drab affair. Nonetheless, we expect other people to come to the fore for both teams, resulting in a score draw at the end of the 90 minutes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.