Mali v South Africa

Mali vs South Africa Preview

Sunday's Group E opener for Mali and South Africa will be contested at the Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly with Mali bringing some impressive results and momentum into this encounter with a seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions while South Africa have suffered just the one defeat in their previous seven matches overall, so this looks like being a tightly contested fixture.

Six wins within these last seven games will give Mali a welcome boost ahead of their opening fixture in Group E against South Africa and includes AFCON qualifying wins against Congo and South Sudan along with a World Cup qualifier victory over Chad, while international friendly wins against Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Guinea-Bissau, the latter being a particularly comprehensive 6-2 win just before the start of this tournament, will also serve as a confidence booster.

The bigger picture shows Mali have been handed just two defeats out of their last 17 matches overall which were against Mauritania and Gambia but Mali have also captured 10 wins within this period as well, while the possibility of a draw also cannot be ruled out as Mali have been involved in five stalemates too.

On the AFCON stage, Mali have lost just three of their last 15 games in this competition which includes picking up five wins but also being involved in no fewer than seven stalemates as well.

South Africa also bring some solid performances and results into this upcoming clash against Mali in Group E as they have been dealt just the one defeat in their last seven matches in all competitions which came in the form of a 2-0 loss away from home at Rwanda in a World Cup qualifier but wins against Malawi (on penalties in the final of the Cosofa Cup), Congo DR (international friendly) and Benin (World Cup qualifier) will also give them a boost ahead of this upcoming Africa Cup of Nations group campaign.

The wider picture shows South Africa have also suffered just two defeats within their previous 18 matches in all competitions which consists of 10 victories but also includes six draws as well, so the possibility of another stalemate cannot be ruled out where South Africa are concerned either.

On the AFCON stage, South Africa have performed poorly in recent times as they have managed to collect just two wins from their last 10 games overall while also slipping to six defeats as well, so Hugo Broos' side may well be happy to settle for a point here in their Group E opener.

Mali v South Africa Verdict

Previous exchanges between Mali and South Africa have been pretty even as both nations have won once in regular time while the draw has featured in two of their previous four meetings.

Therefore, our main bet will be Draw @ 3.00

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.40

Correct Score: 1-1 @ 6.00