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

Senegal host Sudan in Group J of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying at Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar on Thursday.

The Lions of Teranga are unbeaten but have scored only twice in two games, while the Falcons of Jediane arrive third on three points after a 4-1 defeat in Maputo.

Match preview

Senegal are second in Group J on four points, level with Mozambique but behind them on goal difference, +1 to +3.

Patrick Vieira's first competitive game in charge ended 1-1 away to Mozambique on September 25, and Senegal then edged Ethiopia 1-0 in Bahir Dar four days later through Ibrahim Mbaye's 11th-minute goal despite 61% possession.

The 1-0 friendly win over Comoros in Marseille on October 4, settled by Iliman Ndiaye's fifth-minute goal, made it three games in a row with a single Senegal goal and only one conceded across them.

Off the pitch, Ismail Jakobs has retired from international football, and Sadio Mane asked to be excused from the squad to stay home with his family.

Vieira's second squad includes four first call-ups, Pathe Mboup, Pape Demba Diop, Clayton Diandy and Paul Mendy, and does not include Idrissa Gana Gueye.

Senegal have not lost in eight meetings with Sudan, winning five and drawing three, the latest a 3-1 victory in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 in Tangier on January 3 in which Pape Gueye scored twice before half time.

Sudan are third in Group J on three points with two goals scored and four conceded, and both of their goals have come from penalties.

Mohamed Eisa converted an 86th-minute penalty to beat Ethiopia 1-0 in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on September 25, a result that briefly took the Falcons of Jediane top of the group.

Mozambique then won 4-1 in Maputo on September 29, with Witi scoring in the 24th minute, Chamito adding a brace, Guima making it 3-0 in the 58th minute and Yaser Hamed pulling one back from the spot in the 88th.

Kwesi Appiah, the Ghanaian head coach, took Sudan to the last 16 of the January tournament, where Abdallah, a semi-professional at an Australian second-tier club in Melbourne, gave them a sixth-minute lead before Senegal replied three times.

Several of Appiah's players come from Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, and the return leg against Senegal follows on Monday, November 16.

Senegal Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

Senegal form (all competitions):

Sudan Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

Sudan form (all competitions):

Team News

Mamadou Sarr is out with a left calf injury sustained in Real Sociedad's 1-1 Europa League draw with Lyon, and the club has indicated he will miss at least two to three weeks.

Krepin Diatta was forced off in Watford's Championship match against Middlesbrough on November 7 and has been replaced in the squad by the Sevilla defender Arouna Sangante.

Habib Diarra, Ismaila Sarr and Abdallah Sima are also unavailable, which leaves Nicolas Jackson, Mbaye, Ndiaye and Boulaye Dia as the main attacking options.

With Jakobs retired, El Hadji Malick Diouf is the left-back option, and Kalidou Koulibaly captains a back line that also includes Moussa Niakhate.

For the visitors, no injury or suspension has been reported ahead of the trip to Dakar.

Mohamed Eisa and Yasin Hamed have found the back of the net from the spot against Ethiopia and Mozambique respectively, and will hope to get a goal from open play against Senegal.

Senegal possible starting lineup:

Diaw; Sy, Koulibaly, Niakhate, El Hadji Malick Diouf; Pape Gueye, Camara; Mbaye, Pape Matar Sarr, Ndiaye; Jackson

Sudan possible starting lineup:

Mustafa; Barglan, Tabanja, Karshoum, Kuku; Taifour, Abdalla, Khedr; Aamir Abdallah, Muzmel, M. Eisa

We say: Senegal 3-0 Sudan

Both of Sudan's goals in this campaign were penalties, so they have yet to create a clear chance from open play, and Senegal have conceded only once in three matches under Vieira.

Senegal's three straight one-goal games are the genuine concern, but Sudan conceded four in Maputo and three in Tangier in January, and Jackson and Mbaye combined for the winner in Bahir Dar.

Absences such as Mane, Diatta and Sarr thin the squad, yet the Koulibaly and Niakhate pairing remains intact and should be enough to keep out a Sudan attack whose only goals so far came from the penalty spot.

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