Avram Grant AFCON 2015
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Ghana looking to bounce back from shock Senegal loss at AFCON

| 23.01.2015
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Avram Grant saw his Ghana side stunned by a late Senegal comeback in their first outing at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea. He will be targeting improvement against Algeria, 10/3 tournament favourites with Coral to win the tournament.

Elsewhere in the deadly pool that is Group C, South Africa must make history against the Lions of Teranga (7/4 to finish top), or their experimental squad may be be going home early.

Ghana v Algeria
Although the Black Stars lead the Desert Foxes 4-3 in overall head-to-heads, there is nothing to choose between these sides at AFCON finals, with one win apiece and a draw. It’s Algeria, who made a late rally in their opener against South Africa to win 3-1, that are 7/5 match favourites against Ghana (2/1), with a draw priced at 11/5.

Grant will hope to have leading marksman Asamoah Gyan back after the former Sunderland striker was struck down by a bout of malaria. If involved, the Ghana captain is a 7/4 anytime scorer chance. Andre Ayew netted in Gyan’s absence last time out, and is splendid value to do so again at 11/4.

For Algeria, there’s definitely more to come from Porto’s Yacine Brahimi, the reigning African Player of the Year, and he is a 7/4 shot to score anytime. You can say the same about Valencia winger Sofiane Feghouli (11/4), but Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani may be worth backing too. Although short at 6/5, that price is enhanced to 9/2 if punters take the odds for him to grab the opener.

Expect a closely fought contest here, and a 1-1 score draw appeals at 11/2.

South Africa v Senegal
Bafana Bafana have never slain Senegal in an international match, so the Lions of Teranga start as 11/10 favourites for three points. A historic South Africa win is 13/5 and a share of the spoils for both these nations is an 11/5 chance.

If Bafana Bafana are to end this hoodoo and tame the Lions, then they will need Bournemouth striker Tokelo Rantie on top form. He’s an 11/4 anytime chance, while backup Bernard Parker, who used to play in Europe with Twente is 15/2 to score last.

For Senegal, a back three with West Ham United’s Cheikhou Kouyate patrolling in front of it worked well last time out. This allows Mama Biram Diouf to play centrally and paid off as the Stoke City forward score. He is 5/4 to do so again anytime against South Africa.

Papiss Cisse, meanwhile, is 5/1 to round off the scoring with the Newcastle United number nine likely to feature from the bench. A 2-0 and straightforward Senegal victory looks on the cards at 8/1.

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Author

Jamie Clark

Athletics aficionado, die-hard snooker fan and Crystal Palace supporter Jamie has written for Coral since February 2014 after spells with Soccerlens and the Press Association as a digital journalist and copywriter. A former East Midlands sports correspondent and Bwin tipster, he is a graduate of both the University of York and University of Sheffield, with a Masters in web journalism from the latter.