Mauritania vs Botswana Prediction: A draw should satisfy the two nations

Stade de la Capitale will host the African Cup of Nations Qualification encounter between Mauritania and Botswana. Heading into this game, the two nations have struggled in recent times. How will they approach this one?

Mauritania has struggled in recent encounters and will need more than luck to get a better result here. In their last encounter, this team played Senegal in the World Championship qualifier and lost 0-1. However, Mauritania has now played five matches without a win, losing to Cape Verde, Mali, and Sudan in that run. In the meantime, their best result in recent encounters was a goalless draw against Morocco. In that run of matches, Mauritania failed to score a single goal while conceding six. 

Botswana will look to get their luck in this game, having struggled in their last encounters. Last time out, the visiting nation played Libya and suffered a 0-1 defeat on the road. In the meantime, Botswana have now failed to secure a win in their last four matches, with their last win being against Somalia in June. However, Botswana has lost to Mozambique and drew Eswatini and South Africa in recent encounters. In their last five matches, Botswana scored four goals and conceded five in the same run. 

This is a draw encounter as I expect both teams to prioritize avoiding defeat. While Mauritania comes in as a favorite, Botswana does not look totally poor. I will take both teams to find the back of the net here, as a 1-1 draw should be a good outcome at full-time.