The second of Wednesday's of the Africa Cup of Nations semi finals sees host nation Ivory Coast start as favourites for their clash with DR Congo
Ivory Coast
The hosts edged out Mali 2-1 in a dramatic quarter final. Despite having Odilon Kossounou red carded in the first half and then falling behind on 70 minutes Simon Adingra forced extra time with a very late goal. Diakite scored the winner with the last kick of extra time and he was then sent off along wwith a Mali player as the game ended in a degree of chaos.
In the Round of 16 Ivory Coast knocked out defending champions Senegal. They were behind as early as the 4th minute but Kessie equalized from the penalty spot on 86 minutes to make it 1-1. Extra time failed to produce a goal and Ivory Coast came through the penalty shoot out.
Ivory Coast only scraped into the last 16 as the final best third placed finisher after finishing well behind Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria (Guinea Bissau were eliminated). They won 1 and lost 2 group matches and even though their goal difference was -3 they survived. Things started well enough with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau but next time out they lost 1-0 to Nigeria and they finished up aa 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in a real mess.
DR Congo
DR Congo were 3-1 winners over Guinea in the quarter finals. They conceded first but Mbembe soon equalized and a second half penalty from Wissa and a latish goal from Masuaku sealed the deal.
In the Round of 16 DR Congo knocked out Egypt in a penalty shoot out after a 1-1 draw. Elia scored their goal in the first half, Egypt were level before half time and there was no further scoring.
DR Congo drew all 3 of their group matches and finished as runners up to Morocco who were unbeaten with 2 wins and 1 draw. Zambia and Tanzania both earned 2 points and were eliminated. There were few thrills in DR Congo's group matches although they will take heart from a 1-1 draw with a powerful Morocco team either side of another 1-1 draw with Zambia and a 0-0 stalemate with Tanzania.
The Betting
Ivory Coast are currently trading at around 11/10 to win the game with the draw at 2/1 and DR Congo are priced at around 28/10
A game of 3 goals or more in total is priced at 1.65/1 and it's 13/10 for both teams to score.
Note, odds quoted are for regulation time and are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
Verdict:
Ivory Coast's capitulation in their final group match seems a long time ago now, they have recovered to knock out 2 decent sides and their games have generally been full of drama. DR Congo have yet to taste defeat although their only win came against a pretty average Guinea side in the quarters.
I think we will see goals here and I'm taking my chances that we will see at least 1 in each half.
Bets: Goal to be scored in both halves? (yes) at 5/4 with Sportingbet
Note, odds quoted are for regulation time and are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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