Preview: Libya vs Tunisia - prediction, team news, lineups

Tunisia will be looking to repair their faltering Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign when they travel to the 11 June Stadium in Tripoli to face Libya on Tuesday.

The Mediterranean Knights moved onto four points from three Group H matches with Friday's victory in Sfax, while the Eagles of Carthage sit bottom of the table with two points, still waiting for their first win of the campaign.

Match preview

Libya opened their AFCON qualifying campaign with a 2-2 draw at home to Botswana, coming from two goals down through Marwan Al-Habashi's strike in the 87th minute and Ezoo El Mariamy's penalty deep into stoppage time.

They then suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Uganda, with Arnold Vula scoring the only goal, leaving them bottom of Group H before Friday's result moved them towards the top end of the table.

Coach Youssouph Dabo, the Senegalese who replaced Ali Cisse, had not won a competitive match in charge before Friday, making the victory all the more significant.

In Sfax, Libya took the lead after Ali Maaloul fouled Muaid Issa in the box, allowing Ali Youssef to convert from the penalty spot in the 44th minute, before Hamdou El Houni doubled their advantage on the counter-attack shortly after the hour mark.

The result marked Tunisia's heaviest home defeat in AFCON qualifying and the first time they had trailed by two goals on home soil in the competition.

It also ended more than 25 years without a two-goal home defeat in the qualifiers, prompting angry supporters to throw bottles and set off flares, while players and staff confronted referee Hamza El Fariq, who was subsequently escorted from the stadium.

Coach Mouine Chaabani has since apologised to supporters and admitted that the defeat was deserved, although Tunisia's decline stretches further back than the current qualifying campaign.

They lost all three matches at the 2026 World Cup, suffering defeats against Sweden (5-1), Japan (4-0) and the Netherlands (3-1), and have now gone nine games without a win, including September's draws against Uganda (1-1) and Botswana (2-2).

Before this campaign, Tunisia had qualified for each of the last 17 AFCON finals, the longest active streak of any nation, but with only one team besides co-hosts Uganda able to progress from Group H, they are running out of room for error.

Their record against Libya remains encouraging, however, as the visitors had won the previous six meetings before Friday's encounter, including a 5-2 away victory in 2021 and 3-0 and 1-0 wins in 2023.

Libya Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

Libya form (all competitions):

Tunisia Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

Tunisia form (all competitions):

Team News

Libya are expected to rely heavily on home-based players from clubs in Tripoli and Benghazi, with Youssouph Dabo naming a 27-man squad for the double-header.

Al Hilal Benghazi forward Ezoo El Mariamy is among the main attacking options, while Hamdou El Houni will be hoping to recover from the injury that forced him off during the first leg after scoring.

Tunisia have also named a 27-man squad built around experienced internationals Ferjani Sassi, Aissa Laidouni, Ali Maaloul and Montassar Talbi, while Moetez Zemzemi and Mohamed Ali Ben Hammouda are among the new additions.

Elias Achouri was ruled out through injury before the first leg and has not been included in the squad for the trip to Libya.

Libya possible starting lineup:

Al-Tihar; Jaddour, Elfadli, Musrati, Salama; Al-Shuraimi, Al-Hbeishi; Eissa, Ellafi, Tajouri; El Maremi

Tunisia possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Ghram, Talbi, Maaloul; Drager, Laidouni, Ben Romdhane, Gharbi; Letaief, Saad; Chaouat

We say: Libya 1-1 Tunisia

Tunisia desperately need a victory, but they have scored just three goals in three qualifiers while conceding five, and Libya showed how dangerous they can be on the counter-attack in Sfax, with another positive result likely to leave the hosts in a strong position.

The visitors should be more assertive away from the pressure of their own supporters and possess greater individual quality, but their recent struggles suggest they could again enjoy plenty of possession without creating enough clear-cut opportunities.

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