Ivory Coast vs Lesotho Prediction: The home team will never disappoint

When they play each other on Saturday at the Stade Laurent Pokou, Ivory Coast and Lesotho will wrap off their respective campaigns in Group H of the qualifying tournament for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Les Elephants will head into the weekend seeking to finish with a perfect home record and climb to the top of the standings after winning both of their games in the qualifiers so far.

At the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, a motivated Zambian team handed Ivory Coast their first loss of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifications by thrashing them 3-0. Just 31 minutes into the match, Serge Aurier scored an own goal to give Zambia the lead. However, Patson Daka and Kings Kangwa scored in the second half to finish off a strong effort by the Chipolopolo. Prior to that, Les Elephants were eliminated from the quarterfinals of the African Nations Championship as a result of a 1-0 loss to Algeria in January. However, in March, Les Elephants were victorious in both of their AFCON qualifying matches against Comoros, which allowed them to advance to the next round. Ivory Coast, who will be hosting the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations next January, have three victories and one draw from their five matches to collect 10 points and are in second position in Group H, two points behind first-placed Zambia. The team coached by Jean-Louis Gasset has finally returned to their home turf after playing two games in a row away from it. At their stadium, they have won five of their past six matches across all competitions, with the exception being a friendly encounter against Mauritania on January 9, in which they were defeated by a score of 3-0.

On the other side, Lesotho was unable to realize its goal of winning the COSAFA Cup for the first time after suffering a heartbreaking loss to Zambia in the tournament's championship match by a score of 1-0. Wisdom Moyela, who is now 29 years old, stole the show at the King Zwelithini Stadium when he scored the game-winning goal for the Chipolopolo in the 77th minute to give them their sixth COSAFA Cup title. The players, led by Veselin Jelusic, will now shift their focus to the African Cup of Nations qualifiers. These AFCON qualifiers have been another disappointing run for the team, as they currently sit in last place in Group H's standings.

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:

Sangare; Aurier, Doumbia, Bolly, Ndicka; Sangare, Kessie, Diakite; Cornet, Haller, Gradel

Lesotho possible starting lineup:

Moerane; Malane, Tseka, Makepe, Rasethuntsa; Lesaoana, Lebokollane; Bereng, Mokhachane, Thabantso; Motebang

By virtue of the fact that they will be hosting the subsequent Africa Cup of Nations, the Ivory Coast has already secured a spot in the competition. However, the Elephants will want to finish their qualifying campaign on a high note by claiming victory in their final game so that they might perhaps unseat Zambia as the group winners. Despite having a remarkable run in the COSAFA Cup, Lesotho was unable to advance out of the qualification group for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the second year in a row. We are taking the position that Ivory Coast will not only win the match but also keep a clean sheet.