Ivory Coast vs Cameroon Prediction: Goals on the cards?

One of the biggest clashes of the Afcon group stage sees Ivory Coast take on Cameroon on Sunday night (20:00 GMT, 4Seven). Both of these giants secured narrow 1-0 wins on Christmas Eve, which makes this meeting one that should decide who wins Group F.

Below you can find my Ivory Coast vs Cameroon predictions as we look to secure another winner. 

Team News

Despite their array of talent, Ivory Coast were underwhelming in their 1-0 win over Mozambique. Wilfried Zaha started as the number nine, Yan Diomande started on the left and Amad Diallo played from the right of the front three. 

Vakoun Bayo is an option from the bench, while Franck Kessie will captain the team from midfield, alongside 34-year-old Jean Michael Seri and Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare. Evann Guessand replaced the injured Sebastien Haller in the squad but did not feature in the opener. 

Cameroon will likely be without Carlos Baleba after he was withdrawn with a hamstring injury in the win over Gabon. Jean Onana is likely to replace him in the starting XI as a result, while Levante’s Etta Eyong scored their only goal of the game and will lead the line, with Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo playing a supporting role behind him. 

Stoke’s Junior Tchamadeu has had an excellent season for his club and will continue at right wing-back, with Darlin Yongwa of Lorient on the opposite flank. 

Ivory Coast vs Cameroon Odds

Ivory Coast are priced at 23/20 to win this game, giving them an implied win probability of 46%. Cameroon are 11/4 to take all three points while a split of the spoils is 2/1.

If you fancy goals, over 2.5 goals is 13/8 and BTTS is 11/10, while Zaha is the favourite to score first at 4/1. 

Over 2.5 goals @ 13/8

There’s just too much attacking quality on show for this game to be a dull affair, in my humble opinion. I fancy Mbeumo to get his campaign underway in this one, while the absence of Baleba should open up the midfield somewhat. 

Meanwhile, Zaha and Diallo are very tough to stop from a Cameroon point of view, and Ivory Coast scored 12 goals in six qualification games. I think this should be an entertaining encounter with goals aplenty. 

Draw @ 2/1

I can see these two teams taking each other on and scoring goals for fun, but I also can’t separate them. For that reason, I think a draw offers the best value at 2/1, as I just can’t quite get behind Ivory Coast at 23/20. 

I think there are plenty of reasons to back a draw in this one, as it's a result that would take both teams closer to the knockout stages with one to play. I also like a score draw in Ivory Coast vs Cameroon at 18/5.

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