Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea Prediction: Extra-time on cards in Abidjan?

The third knockout tie of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations takes place at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan on Sunday (KO, 17:00), as Equatorial Guinea face Guinea in the Round of 16.

Equatorial Guinea beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2 en route to winning Group A, with Nigeria and hosts Ivory Coast forced to settle for second and third respectively.

Their reward for upsetting the continent's elite is a Sunday evening showdown with Guinea, who were knocked down to third in Group C after Cameroon's dramatic late win over Gambia in the final round of fixtures.

Team News

Equatorial Guinea head coach Juan Micha has largely kept faith with the starting XI that has delivered so much this tournament, with 10 players starting all three group games.

Jannick Buyla and Josete Miranda are the only other two starters, with the former replaced by Miranda after getting the nod for the opener against Ivory Coast. Both players have scored at the 2023 AFCON, but Micha is expected to name an unchanged XI after two successive victories.

Guinea were able to hand first starts of the tournament to captain Naby Keita and prolific Bundesliga centre-forward Serhou Guirassy in their final group game, a 2-0 defeat to reigning champions Senegal.

The duo appeared to come through unscathed after making way just after the hour-mark as part of pre-planned substitutions, and have surely given themselves a chance of starting on Sunday.

Guirassy's place is probably slightly less sure, given Mohamed Bayo is a capable striker himself and scored Guinea's first goal of the tournament against Cameroon.

Mouctar Diakhaby will also hope to return after being benched against the Lions of Teranga, as will Ibrahim Diakite, Morgan Guilavogui and Sekou Sylla.

Match Odds

Equatorial Guinea are 5/2 to win the tie inside 90 minutes on Sunday, with Guinea the favourites to claim victory at 23/20. A draw, which would send the tie into extra-time, is priced at 9/5.

Both teams to score is 6/5 and it's 7/4 for over 2.5 goals.

Draw and Both Teams To Score - Yes @ 18/5

Equatorial Guinea just continue to upset the odds at the Africa Cup of Nations.

They finished second in their group at the previous tournament in 2022, consigning Algeria to a bottom-place finish, before beating Mali in the Round of 16 and bowing out to eventual winners Senegal in the quarter-finals.

This year, they drew with Nigeria and thrashed hosts Ivory Coast 4-0 to top Group A and reach the knockouts. Suddenly, another run to the quarters - and possibly further - looks on.

Guinea should present a tough challenge, however, with the National Elephants featuring some big names in their squad, including Keita and Guirassy. They beat Gambia in their second game but drew 1-1 with Cameroon and lost 2-0 to Senegal, though, so it has been a mixed campaign for them so far.

It's difficult to separate these sides given the form of Equatorial Guinea and the quality of Guinea, so a draw - which would send the tie to an extra 30 minutes - feels likely.

There should be a few goals, though, with Equatorial Guinea scoring nine across their three games and conceding three - one to Nigeria and two to Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea found the net in their opening two fixtures and only failed to breach the Senegal defence, while their only clean sheet came against Gambia.

Emilio Nsue to score anytime @ 11/4

The former Middlesbrough and Birmingham City full-back continues to make waves on the international scene.

Playing up front for his country, Nsue scored five goals - including a hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau - in three group games to put himself top of the scoring charts and in firm contention for the Golden Boot.

11/4 for Nsue to score anytime feels generous given his feats so far this tournament, and he and his country can continue to defy expectations on Sunday.

Check out the rest of our AFCON Betting Tips here.