Mali will be looking to make two wins from two in Group G of the 2023 AFCON Qualifiers when they take on South Sudan at St Mary’s Stadium on Thursday.
South Sudan opened their qualifiers campaign on the back foot as they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Scorpions of Gambia at Stade Lat Dior last Saturday. They have now suffered five defeats from their last seven games, with the only wins coming in the preliminary qualifying round of the AFCON against Djibouti.
The Bright Stars now sit third in Group G on goal difference as they are level on zero points with the rock-bottom Congo. They have never qualified for the AFCON finals since attaining their Independence in 2011, and will want to advance this time around. Therefore they will be looking for a victory on Thursday, although it will take a lot for them to beat Mali.
Mali got their campaign off in a style last time out as they comfortably dispatched Congo 4-0 at Stade du Mars. The victory ended their three-match winless run and will now be looking to extend the winning run on Thursday.
Les Aigles will fancy their chances in the Thursday’s clash having won all their last four encounters against South Sudan, scoring 11 goals while conceding none in the run. They also possess much quality in their squad than their hosts and we are backing them to make two wins in two games.
South Sudan vs Mali head to head
Both sides have met in four encounters since 2015 with Mali winning in all occasions.
- Mali 3-0 South Sudan 23/03/19
- South Sudan 0-3 Mali 09/09/18
- South Sudan 0-3 Mali 04/06/16
- Mali 2-0 South Sudan 13/06/15
Home
- Gambia 1-0 South Sudan
- South Sudan 1-0 Djibouti
- Djibouti 2-4 South Sudan
- Gambia 2-1 South Sudan
- Jordan 3-0 South Sudan
Away
- Mali 4-0 Congo
- Tunisia 0-0 Mali
- Mali 0-1 Tunisia
- Mali 0-0 Equatorial Guinea
- Mali 2-0 Mauritania
South Sudan team news
South Sudan have a fully-fit squad except for Peter Sunday Makoi who is a doubt after coming off with a 37th-minute injury against Gambia last Saturday.
Mali team news
Mali also has a fully-fit squad except for Ibrahim Kone who picked an injury in the clash against Congo last Saturday.
Prediction and odds
- Mali win
- Goals over 2.5
- Both sides to score(No)
