Guinea vs Gambia Prediction: Spirited Guinea must win

Guinea aims to extend their positive momentum in the Africa Cup of Nations campaign as they face Gambia in their second match at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium on Friday evening. While Gambia sees this as a crucial match to avoid defeat, Guinea perceives it as a must-win situation before confronting the defending champions, Senegal, in the third game. I delve into a detailed preview of this match and also provide available betting opportunities below.

Guinea has showcased significant improvement in recent years, and their commendable performance in the first match, where they secured a point against Cameroon despite being considered underdogs, is testament to that progress. Following a 1-1 draw with Cameroon, Guinea is aware of the need to elevate their performance in the upcoming match to secure maximum points. In the previous game, Guinea had 30% possession, registered 6 shots on goal, with 2 of them on target. Mohamed Bayo scored for Guinea in the 10th minute, while Cameroon, with 13 attempts at goal and 2 on target, saw Frank Magri equalizing in the 51st minute. Over the last six encounters involving Guinea, fewer than three goals were scored in five of them. During this period, Guinea conceded a total of 3 goals, while scoring 7 themselves.

Following their recent loss to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations competition, Gambia and their supporters are optimistic about achieving a better result in their upcoming match. In the previous game, Gambia had 34% possession and recorded 10 shots on goal, with 2 on target. Conversely, Senegal made 12 attempts at goal, hitting the target 5 times. Senegal secured the victory with goals from Pape Gueye in the 4th minute and a brace from Lamine Camara in the 52nd and 86th minutes. Statistics reveal that Gambia has conceded goals in 5 of their last 6 matches, with opposing teams scoring a total of 11 goals. Despite the challenging task of qualifying for the knockout rounds, as indicated by their performance in the opening match, Tom Saintfiet's side is now determined to avoid defeat at all costs.

The upcoming Friday's game will signify the 25th encounter between these two teams. Guinea has emerged victorious in seven of their previous matchups, while Gambia has secured two fewer wins. Additionally, there have been 12 draws in their history. The most recent clash occurred in the last 16 of the 2022 Nations Cup, where Gambia emerged victorious with a 1-0 scoreline. Guinea, however, has only managed to win two out of their last 11 games in this fixture. Notably, the Scorpions have not kept a clean sheet in their last five games across all competitions.

Guinea possible starting lineup:

Kone; Conte, Diakhaby, Jeanvier, Sylla; Moriba, Konate; Guilavogui, Camara, Kante; Bayo

Gambia possible starting lineup:

Gaye; Janko, Gomez, Colley, Touray; Manneh, Marr, Darboe; Minteh, Barrow; Fadera

Guinea is currently enjoying a streak of consecutive unbeaten matches and has suffered only one loss in their last seven games across all competitions. Although they have faced challenges in this particular fixture recently, they are optimistic about securing a favorable outcome this Friday. On the contrary, Gambia is going through a three-game losing streak and has managed to win only two of their last nine matches across all competitions. The Syli National is in significantly better form than their opponents leading up to the Friday clash and is expected to emerge victorious. Despite Gambia appearing to lack confidence, I anticipate they will focus extensively on defense. However, I predict they will concede two goals while failing to score themselves.