Nigeria v Equatorial Guinea

Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea Preview

Ivory Coast will host this upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament which starts this weekend and Group A features this upcoming clash between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara with Nigeria hotly tipped to make a positive start to their AFCON group campaign with a win here, while Equatorial Guinea bring a solid looking nine-match unbeaten run in all competitions into this tournament.

Nigeria were dealt a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Guinea on Monday just before the tournament was about to begin but nevertheless, Nigeria coach, Jose Peseiro, will have been pleased with his side's previous unbeaten run of seven games in all competitions which included winning three AFCON qualifiers on the trot.

Victories over the likes of Guinea-Bissau 1-0, Sierra Leone 3-2 and Sao Tome e Principe 6-0 will serve as confidence boosters for the Super Eagles while goals have also featured with four of Nigeria's last eight games overall have resulted in Over 2.5 goals being scored.

Nigeria have won the Africa Cup of Nations trophy on three previous occasions, the most recent being in 2013, while also finishing in the last four no fewer than 15 times, so they have been a consistent performer on this stage, while the Nigerians will have the likes of Victor Osimhen spearheading their attack who became the first African to finish top of the goalscoring charts in Serie A.

Equatorial Guinea could emerge as a potential dark horse in Group A as they continue to make encouraging progress under coach Juan Micha which has produced a promising nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions which consist of five wins and four draws, thus giving Nzalang Nacional some decent momentum heading into this Group A opener against Nigeria.

Wins in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying stage against Botswana (home and away) and most notable of all, a 1-0 home win against Tunisia, have been backed up by recent World Cup qualifying victories over Namibia and Liberia respectively, so Micha's side need to be taken seriously here.

The bigger picture shows Equatorial Guinea have lost just once in their last 12 matches overall but results on the Africa Cup of Nations proper stage, they have produced patchy form as they have managed to capture just five wins from their last 13 games in this tournament, whilst being handed six defeats in the process.

That said, Equatorial Guinea did achieve a remarkable 1-0 win against heavily fancied Algeria in last year's tournament so they will be hoping they can claim another scalp in the form of Nigeria on Sunday afternoon.

Nigeria v Equatorial Guinea Verdict

Nigeria have held the upper hand in previous exchanges between themselves and Equatorial Guinea as the Super Eagles have won each of the previous three encounters but this upcoming tussle may be more competitive this time around with a few goals for good measure.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 2.20

Other side bets worth considering:

Nigeria win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.60

Correct Score: Nigeria 2-1 @ 9.50