South Africa v Tunisia

South Africa vs Tunisia Preview

South Africa redeemed themselves in the second match of this group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations when they recorded a comprehensive 4-0 rout of Namibia in what was a ‘must win' game for Bafana Bafana and now they are just 90 minutes away from a possible place in the knockout round of this year's competition, while Tunisia now find themselves in a ‘must win' situation after being held to a 1-1 draw by the group leaders, Mali.

South Africa's first priority ahead of this upcoming encounter against Tunisia is not to lose so Hugo Broos' side may be happy to settle for a point although all three points would almost certainly see them progress as one of the strongest third place finishers in the worse case scenario.

Recent defeats to Rwanda in a World Cup qualifier along with their 2-0 loss to Mali in the group opener wasn't the sort of preparation or start to this tournament that Broos would have envisaged for his side but the bigger picture shows these two losses have been South Africa's only slip-ups in their last 10 matches in all competitions.

Indeed, South Africa have lost just three of their previous 21 games overall while 11 of these 21 matches have also produced goals for both teams as well.

Tunisia currently sit bottom of the Group E table having picked up just one point from their opening two games of the group stage which came in their 1-1 draw with Mali last time out, and they now also find themselves in the position of having to win this final game of the group phase against South Africa if they are to have any chance of progressing through to the knockout rounds.

Tunisia had previously won three of their preceding four games overall in all competitions which produced wins against Sao Tome e Principe, Malawi and Cabo Verde along with a draw with Mauritania, so Jalel Kadri's side will be desperate to rekindle that sort of form when they face the South Africans on Wednesday evening.

However, this may be easier said than done for Tunisia as previous form at Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in recent times have been very disappointing; they have managed to capture just two wins from their last nine matches in the AFCON tournament whilst slipping to six defeats but their need may now be greater than South Africa's ahead of this final game of the group stage.

South Africa v Tunisia Verdict

Both South Africa and Tunisia really need all three points to either cement their place in the knockout rounds or stay in the hunt respectively, so both nations will be pressing to score at either ends which could see both sides hit the back of the net in this encounter.

Therefore, our main bet will be BTTS Yes @ 2.20

Other side bets worth considering:

Tunisia win @ 2.15

Correct Score: Tunisia 2-1 @ 10.00