United are not able to be picky about which trophies they win these days and will be relieved to be hosting lower-league opposition in the FA Cup fourth round. They went into the winter break on the back of two Premier League wins and can use the cup tie to get back into the swing of things.
Cameroon will hope home advantage gives them the edge when they face fellow former Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt in the second semi-final on Thursday. Both teams know what it takes to go all the way in this tournament but Cameroon have the added incentive of lifting the trophy on home soil.
Canada are enjoying a dream international break and can move even closer to qualifying for this year’s World Cup by winning in El Salvador. The Canucks are coming off triumphs over Honduras and the USA, which made it five consecutive victories for the group table toppers.
USA are under fire and under pressure after losing to Canada, but should get their World Cup campaign back on track when entertaining Honduras. Los Catrachos are bottom of the CONCACAF group after tasting defeat in six straight qualifiers and failing to score in the last couple.
Senegal will be looking to reach a second successive Africa Cup of Nations final when they face Burkina Faso. Sadio Mane and Co began the tournament as favourites in the outright betting and remain on course to justify their status after cruising through to the last four.
Canada and USA are both bang on course to qualify for this year’s World Cup finals in Qatar and a draw in Hamilton may satisfy both teams. With three automatic places up for grabs, Mexico are just behind but Panama crucially lost ground due to Thursday’s defeat at Costa Rica.
USA were held to a goalless draw by El Salvador in September’s opening round of World Cup qualifiers but should ease through the return fixture in Columbus. The Stars and Stripes have won their last three home matches, while La Selecta have tasted defeat in a trio of away games.
With the 27th season of Major League Soccer scheduled to begin in late February, we have taken a look at the data to understand what might happen in the MLS season 2022. We have used the bwin MLS play-off odds to assess the difficulty of each team’s opening fixture schedule; specifically their first 10 games.
Senegal and Guinea were always expected to advance from Africa Cup of Nations Group B and both head into this contest with a win on the board. Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Naby Keita will be on opposing teams for a change in Bafoussam, but the former has a better supporting cast on paper.
Cameroon survived a scare to win their Africa Cup of Nations opener and the hosts can build on that by beating Ethiopia in Group A. The Walias began as outsiders to qualify from this pool and have an even bigger mountain to climb after kicking off with a defeat.
Tunisia and Mali drew 1-1 during the pool stage of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and are backed to share the spoils again in Cameroon. With Gambia and Mauritania expected to merely make up the numbers in Group F, another stalemate would surely suit both sides.
Nigeria and Egypt should prove a class apart from Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in their AFCON pool so a draw may satisfy both sides when they meet. However, bookmakers have cut the odds of a stalemate, so we’re looking elsewhere for value in this Group D opener.
Morocco and Ghana are both expected to qualify from Group C at the Africa Cup of Nations and may settle for a share of the spoils first up. Gabon could gatecrash the top two spots but Comoros look out of their depth, so a draw would be a solid result for each of these sides.
Senegal begin the Africa Cup of Nations as favourites in the outright betting and it would be a big surprise if they have any trouble getting out of Group B. The Lions of Teranga have never won the tournament but are well fancied for success in Cameroon and can ease their way into the knockout stage.