Kick-off: 1900, 06/02/2022
Stadium: Olembe Stadium
TV: Sky Sports
Sadio Mane’s Senegal will take on Egypt and Mohamed Salah in a Liverpool derby to decide the Africa Cup of Nations in Yaounde on Sunday.
The Pharaohs will be more battle-hardened after coming through a tougher route to the final but the Lions of Teranga have been visually more impressive.
Senegal also have the added incentive of lifting this trophy for the first time, whereas Egypt have previously prevailed on a record seven occasions.
We reckon 2.0 for the Lions of Teranga to win in normal time is the way to go with our initial Senegal vs Egypt prediction.
Senegal Odds
Senegal only scored one goal during the group stage, with Mane’s 97th-minute penalty edging out Zimbabwe before goalless draws with Guinea and Malawi.
The Lions of Teranga have been good to watch during the knockout rounds, though, starting with a 2-0 defeat of Cape Verde.
Equatorial Guinea were then beaten 3-1 and it was the same scoreline against Burkina Faso in the semis.
Mane now has three goals to his name, Marseille forward Bamba Dieng is on two and Watford winger Ismaila Sarr and Crystal Palace midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate have also netted.
Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy, Napoli centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly, PSG pair Abdou Diallo and Idrissa Gueye, plus Cagliari winger Keita Balde are other big names in an impressive line-up.
If Aliou Cisse’s men can hold their nerve at Olembe Stadium, they should be too strong here.
However, with only one goal scored before the interval so far, 4.75 for Draw HT/Senegal FT stands out from the Senegal vs Egypt odds.
Egypt Odds
Egypt had to settle for second place in their pool, losing 1-0 to Nigeria before shading Guinea-Bissau and Sudan by the same scoreline.
The Pharaohs then sneaked past Ivory Coast on penalties following a goalless stalemate, with Salah striking the deciding spot-kick.
Salah was on target in regulation play when Egypt came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in extra-time, with Aston Villa’s Trezeguet netting the winner.
Another shoot-out was needed to get past hosts Cameroon following a goalless 120 minutes, with Zamalek goalkeeper Gabaski saving two spot-kicks.
Things could have been different had Cameroon scored during a rampant opening, when several clear-cut chances were wasted.
Salah failed to capitalise on a one-on-one with Ajax keeper Andre Onana early in the second half, before the hosts again had the better of things.
Throughout this competition, Salah has not quite been at his best, while Egypt’s largely home-based team does not feature an elite-level supporting cast.
Manager Carlos Queiroz must watch this match from the stands after being sent off versus Cameroon and his organisational skills will be missed.
Tight tussles have been the norm when the Pharaohs are in action, though, so 4.8 for the Lions of Teranga to win just 1-0 is an obvious addition to our Senegal vs Egypt betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
Burkina Faso 1-3 SENEGAL – Abdou Diallo, Bamba Dieng, Sadio Mane
Cameroon 0-0 EGYPT (1-3 on penalties)
Head-to-head: Egypt 0-1 Senegal, Senegal 2-0 Egypt, Egypt 2-1 Senegal, Egypt 1-0 Senegal
Join bwin today and receive up to £20 money back as a FreeBet if your first wager (3+ selections at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater) is a loser! Terms and conditions apply.
