Preview: Senegal vs Sudan - prediction, team news, lineups

Senegal will lock horns with Sudan in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations at the Grand Stade de Tangier on Saturday to kick off the knockout phase of the tournament.

The Teranga Lions finished top of Group D with seven points from three encounters, while their opponents finished third in Group E and made it to the second round as one of the best third-placed teams in the tournament.

Match preview

Former champions Senegal gave a good account of themselves in the preliminary stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, progressing to the round of 16 as was widely expected before the commencement of the competition.

Although they finished on the same number of points as DR Congo, a better goal difference guaranteed their place at the top of the group.

Now up against Sudan in the second round, Pape Thiaw’s team will fancy their chances of making a fourth quarter-final appearance in their last five outings in the tournament.

Their case for a last-eight place is strengthened by their showing in the group stage of the tournament, where they claimed a pair of convincing 3-0 victories over Botswana and Benin, with the other match ending in a draw, resulting in seven goals scored and only one conceded in that time.

While they are the favourites ahead of Saturday’s contest, following their ouster at the same stage of the competition at the hands of Ivory Coast, who were the worst third-placed team in that competition, they will not leave anything to chance.

That said, a run of eight wins from their last 10 matches across all competitions is an indication of how well the West Africans have been playing.

Sudan already impressed when they booked their place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but they have shocked the continent even further by reaching the round of 16.

Having said that, they lost two of their group games, with a scrappy 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea enough to send them through to this stage as one of the best third-placed teams.

Having won only two of their 19 fixtures across six appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations since emerging as champions in 1970, Kwesi Appiah’s men will have their hands full against Senegal on Saturday.

A wretched run of four losses (W1) in their last five matches hardly inspires any confidence, and in addition to that, they have only won two of their last 15 matches (D3, L10).

Their head-to-head record against Senegal does not make for good reading, with seven matches without a win, losing four of those inside 90 minutes and the others ending in stalemates.

Senegal Africa Cup of Nations form:

Sudan Africa Cup of Nations form:

Sudan form (all competitions):

Team News

Now that the competition has reached the knockout phase, there is little or no room for experimentation, as coaches are expected to send out their best teams in each game.

For Senegal, the regulars are expected to be involved in this contest from the beginning, but they will surely miss the leadership of Kalidou Koulibaly, who is suspended for this encounter after being sent off against Benin in their final group game.

Aside from Koulibaly, Ilay Camara (muscle) and Assane Diao (thigh) will watch proceedings from the bench as they recuperate from their injuries.

However, the Teranga Lions will not be short of firepower up front with Iliman Ndiaye, Ismaila Sarr and Sadio Mane available for selection.

Similarly, Sudan have a few injury cases on their hands as well, but a vast majority of the players are fit and ready to go.

Nevertheless, Abuaagla Mohamed, Abobaker Eisa and Adil Salaheldin are set to miss out on this contest on account of various injuries.

Senegal possible starting lineup:

Mendy; Jakobs, Niakhate, Seck, Diatta; P. Gueye, I. Gueye; Ndiaye, Mane, Sarr; Jackson

Sudan possible starting lineup:

Elneel; Awad, Saeed Ahmed, Karshom, Khamis; Taifour, Alhassan Omer; Nooh, Eisa, Abdelrahman

We say: Senegal 2-0 Sudan

On paper, this looks like a stroll in the park for Senegal, and considering the gulf in class and the unimpressive form of Sudan, it appears Senegal will have an easy ride on Saturday.

Therefore, we are backing Senegal to claim a 2-0 win this weekend and advance to the next round of the competition.

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