Ethiopia and Cape Verde will get their Africa Cup of Nations campaign underway on Sunday night when they lock horns in the second match of the competition and Group A at Stade Paul Biya with kickoff at 22:00.
Ethiopia did well to qualify for the 33rd edition of the competition finishing second in Group K of the qualifiers behind Ivory Coast. They had a good qualifying-campaign claiming three wins and three defeats form their six qualifying matches, beating Madagascar to the last qualifying spot by just a point.
However, the Ibex have been struggling lately in the competitive fixtures, securing just one win from their last six competitive matches. The form saw them miss out on a World Cup qualifying playoffs. However they are coming off a 3-2 win against Sudan in their warm up fixture on Thursday extending their unbeaten to three matches now and Wubetu Abate will hope his side can keep the momentum going as they aim at getting off on a positive note.
Meanwhile Cape Verde booked a place in this year’s AFCON in Cameroon by finishing second in Group F of the qualifiers behind the competition hosts. They had a good qualifying campaign finishing the group unbeaten with two wins and four draws from their six qualifying matches.
Cape Verde head into the fixture in a good form having only lost one of their last six matches and are coming off a four-match unbeaten run which included the painful 1-1 draw against Nigeria, a draw that saw them miss out on the World Cup playoffs in March.
With their impressive qualifying campaign and their recent form Cape Verde will be looking to put on an impressive AFCON campaign and there points on Sunday will be a massive step for them.
Ethiopia vs Cape Verde head to head
This will be the first time these two met and considering the occasion, this will be a historic moment for both sides and will fascinating to see how it unfolds.
Home
- Zimbabwe 1-1 Ethiopia
- Ethiopia 1-1 Ghana
- South Africa 1-0 Ethiopia
- Ethiopia 1-3 South Africa
- Ethiopia 1-0 Zimbabwe
Away
- Nigeria 1-1 Cape Verde
- Cape Verde 2-1 Central African Republic
- Cape Verde 1-0 Liberia
- Liberia 1-2 Cape Verde
- Cape Verde 1-2 Nigeria
Ethiopia team news
Ethiopia called a 28-man squad for the AFCON and all the men are fully-fit for selection.
Cape Verde team news
Cape Verde also named a 28-man squad for the AFCON including Lisandro Semedo who recovered from an ankle injury just in time for selection.
Prediction and odds
- Draw
- Cape Verde win
- Goals under 2.5
