Senegal have an opportunity to maintain their 100% record in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers when they travel to the Stade Alphonse Massamba-Debat to face Congo on Tuesday.
Congo, on the other hand, are aiming to record their first victory after a share of the spoils away from home in their opening fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
Senegal kicked off their qualifying campaign on a positive note following a 2-0 victory on at the Stade Lat Dior Sparrowhawks of Togo on Wednesday.
Aliou Cisse's men were repelled effectively in the opening 45 minutes, before second-half goals from Sadio Mane and Abdou Diallo settled the game.
The Lions of Teranga have now won each of their last three outings on home turf since the turn of the year with a surprising 1-1 draw against Eswatini in March the only exception.
Up next for the west Africans is a trip to an opposing side who they have not lost to in any of the five previous meetings between the sides.
The sides recently met in the AFCON qualifiers where the visitors secured a place at next year's competition after topping the group, while the hosts could only manage a third-placed finish.
In the sides' first-ever meeting, Congo played out a 1-1 stalemate versus the Brave Warriors of Namibia at the Orlando Stadium on Thursday.
Paul Put's men were trailing at half time courtesy of Charles Hambira's opener, before the latter scored an own goal in the second period to restore parity.
The Red Devils now face the challenge of two games in quick succession against a Senegal side widely regarded as the favourites to top the group.
However, Tuesday's hosts pushed their visitors all the way when the teams faced off recently in a goalless draw back in March, and they will be confident of another positive result.
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Team News
Sadio Mane's opener against Togo was his 24th strike for Senegal, moving him within five goals of Henri Camara's all-time record of 29.
Cheikhou Kouyate is now one cap away from becoming the ninth player in history to have made 70 or more appearances for Tuesday's visitors.
Congo's Yann Mabella was handed his full international debut last time out, but the 25-year-old could be dropped to the bench for this one.
Mavis Tchibota is still searching for his debut international goal, and the forward will be hopeful of getting it at the fifth time of asking.
Congo possible starting lineup:
Mafoumbi; Mazikou, Bitsindou, Rozan, Tsouka; Makouta, Mbemba, Makoumbou; Tchibota, Mabella, Ganvoula
Senegal possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Mbaye, Diallo, Koulibaly, Ciss; Gueye, Sarr, Kouyate; Mane, Dia, Sarr
We say: Congo 0-2 Senegal
Senegal boast a significantly superior squad, and the onus will be on them to emerge victorious in this one. Congo have shown that they are no pushovers, especially on home turf, but we anticipate a relatively comfortable victory for Senegal.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Senegal win with a probability of 42.3%. A win for Congo had a probability of 30.26% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Senegal win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.54%) and 0-2 (7.97%). The likeliest Congo win was 1-0 (9.8%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.93%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 3.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Senegal would win this match.
