Ivory Coast take a break from the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they go head to head with Togo at the Stade Robert Diochon in a friendly clash on Saturday.

The Sparrowhawks, on the other hand, saw their hopes of securing a place in the 2022 Africa Nations Championship come to an end last time out and will look to quickly move on from that result.

Match preview

Ivory Coast's Nicolas Pepe celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates on January 20, 2022 © Reuters

Ivory Coast failed to make it two wins from two in Group H of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as they were held to a somewhat disappointing goalless draw by Lesotho when the sides met on June 9.

In a one-sided affair at the Dobsonville Stadium, Jean Louis Gasset's men were guilty of a lack of sting in the final third, where they failed to pose any real threat before settling for a share of the spoils.

This followed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Zambia in their group opener on June 3, when goals from Serge Aurier, Christian Kouame and PSV Eindhoven man Ibrahim Sangare put the Chipolopolo to the sword.

Prior to that, the Elephants were dumped out of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in the round of 16 when they lost on penalties to Egypt on January 26 before suffering consecutive defeats against France and England in two high-profile friendlies in March.

Ivory Coast, who missed out on a place in the upcoming World Cup, head into the weekend on a run of seven consecutive wins on home soil, scoring an impressive 17 goals and conceding six since the start of 2020.

Nicolas Pepe in action for Ivory Coast in January 2022 © Reuters

Togo, on the other hand, failed to book their place in the 2022 Africa Nations Championship last time out despite claiming a 1-0 victory over Niger in the second of their two-legged clash.

Having suffered a 3-1 first-leg loss in Niger, Paulo Duarte's men returned to the Venue Stade de Kegue on August 28, where Ashraf Agoro scored the only goal of the game 11 minutes after the half-time break as the Menas secured a 3-2 aggregate win.

Prior to that, Togo failed to win any of their opening two games in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, playing out a 2-2 draw with Eswatini in their Group B opener on June 3 before losing 2-0 to Cape Verde four days later.

The Sparrowhawks head into the weekend on a run of just two wins from their last seven away games across all competitions, picking up one draw and losing four since January 2021.

Ivory Coast competition form:

Ivory Coast form (all competitions):

Togo competition form:

Togo form (all competitions):

Team News

Ivory Coast's Serge Aurier is shown a red card by referee Erik Lambrechts as Ivory Coast's Max Gradel reacts on March 29, 2022 © Reuters

Ivory Coast have named 24 players for their upcoming friendlies against Togo and Guinea, with Abakar Sylla, who has six appearances for Club Brugge this season, amongst a few potential debutants.

Familiar faces like skipper Serge Aurier, Barcelona's Franck Kessie, who has 56 senior caps under his belt, and Jean Michael Seri, who moved to Hull City this summer, have all been called up to the squad.

The Elephants boasts a potent attacking unit which includes the likes of Nicolas Pepe, Maxwel Cornet, Wilfried Zaha and Max Gradel, who is closing in a century of international appearances, giving Gasset plenty of options to choose from this weekend.

Meanwhile, Duarte has called up a 26-man squad for their friendlies, including the Portuguese-based duo of Kennedy Boateng and Emmanuel Hackman, who turn out for Santa Clara and Gil Vicente respectively.

Kodjo Fo Doh Laba and Euloge Fessou Placca both started the AFCON qualifying game against Cape Verde in June and should spearhead the attack once again, while Jacques-Alaixys Romao and Marouf Tchakei should team up in the centre of the park.

Ismaily forward Yaw Annor has failed to make the final squad for the upcoming friendlies despite being included in the preliminary list, while Ghana-born Samuel Asamoah has earned a call-up.

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:
Sangare; Aurier, Diomande, Kossounou, Konan; Sangare, Seri, Kessie; Gradel, Pepe, Zaha

Togo possible starting lineup:
Barcola; Amevor, Boateng, Ananou, Hackman; Asamoah, Romao, Tchakei; Placca, Laba, Nane

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We say: Ivory Coast 2-0 Togo

Following their CHAN qualification heartbreak, Togo will head into the weekend looking to pick up morale-boosting results ahead of their AFCON qualifying games. However, given the gulf in quality and experience between the two nations, we are tipping Ivory Coast to cruise to a comfortable victory.

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Top tip

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