Zambia will open their TOTAL African Nations Championship campaign with a clash against Tanzania at the Stade Omnisports de Limbe on Tuesday.
The Taifa Stars of Tanzania are making their second appearance at the continental tournament, and their goal will be to progress from the group stages, where they crashed out in 2009.
Match preview
Zambia are led by former Uganda and Rwanda head coach Milutin Sredojevic, popularly called Micho, who was appointed head coach in 2018.
Before picking up the Zambian role, Micho quit the Orlando Pirates for Egyptian club Zamalek, where he won the Egyptian Cup, however, he was fired after just 12 games in charge.
In December, The Football Association of Zambia organized a Zambia versus Fans' Select Team friendly match at the Nkoloma Stadium, allowing fans to pick any five players to join Micho's squad for Cameroon.
The Serbian travelled to Cameroon with a 31-man squad, and he will aim to improve the Chipolopolo's 2018 run, where they lost to eventual winners Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Zambia finished second at the just concluded pre-CHAN nations tournament in Yaounde, picking up four points from three games against Niger, Uganda and Cameroon.
Tanzania secured their second appearance at the African Nations Championship after a dramatic qualifiers showdown with Sudan.
The Taifa Stars overturned a 1-0 loss in the first leg, coming from behind to secure a 2-2 aggregate draw in the second leg, before finally edging out their Sudanese counterparts on penalties.
In a warm up friendly game on Tuesday ahead of their Group D opener, Etienne Ndayiragije's men played out a 1-1 draw with The Democratic Republic of Congo, with Lyanga grabbing the equaliser in the 57th minute.
In the last eight meetings in this fixture, Zambia have got the better of Tanzania more often than not, with three wins, four draws and one loss.
There were reportedly a series of explosions outside the Stade Omnisports de Limbe on Thursday, however, despite the scares, this tie is scheduled to go as planned.
Zambia form (all competitions): WWLDLW
Tanzania form (all competitions): LLLLDD
Team News
There are five surprise entries in the Zambia camp, including Zesco United's Clement Mwape and Power Dynamos' midfielder Spencer Sautu, after fans were allowed to select players to join the Chipolopolo squad.
Luka Banda, Amity Shamende and Harrison Chisala will be late arrivals for Zambia, as they join up with the rest of the squad after a late exit from their respective clubs.
Tanzania have a relatively clean bill of health, with only star man John Bocco a doubt for the opener, as he battles to regain fitness following an injury riddled season.
Etienne Ndayiragije has included Pascal Gudance, Jackson Samuel and Abdulrazack Hamza, after the three youngsters inspired the Ugandan Under-20 side to the Total Under-20 AFCON tournament in Mauritania next month.
The omission of Metacha Mnata has been met with shock, as the goalkeeper is having a superb season with Young Africans in the Tanzanian Premier League, with just seven goals conceded in 18 games.
Zambia possible starting lineup:
Siame; Chama, Chepeshi, Mwape, Chilongoshi; Katema, Sakala, Kapumbu; Sikombe, Phiri, Chabula
Tanzania possible starting lineup:
Kaseja; Nyoni, Mwamnyeto, Morris, Kapombe; Mussa, Lyanga, Salum; Kikoti, Mussa, Adam
We say: Zambia 2-1 Tanzania
This clash promises to be a tightly contested one, however, Zambia should prevail at the end of 90 minutes thanks to their well-structured domestic league, and quality of their travelling squad.
Top betting tip
Joshua Ojele
