Introduction
Tunisia and Mali, are considered contenders to dominate Group E, but they find themselves at contrasting positions after the first matches. Mali secured a convincing 2-0 victory over South Africa, placing them top of the group.
Meanwhile, Tunisia suffered a setback with a disappointing defeat to Namibia. This put them in a difficult situation to progress to the knockouts.
About the game
In their encounter against Namibia, Tunisia struggled to convert possession into meaningful chances. They managed only 0.69 expected goals from 10 shots despite dominating the ball with a 61% possession. Namibia secured their first-ever win in the their AFCON’s history,, leaving Tunisia in a must-win situation for at least one of their remaining two games. Historically, Tunisia tends to perform well on Matchday 2 in the AFCON. They previously win seven out of 10 group stage games and never losing the first two matches of a tournament.
However, Tunisia faces an additional challenge as they have never beaten Mali in AFCON history, having drawn once and lost twice in previous group stage encounters. Another failure to secure a victory against Mali would establish them as the team faced the most times in the AFCON group stage without a win.
In Contrast, Mali displayed an impressive performance against South Africa, capitalizing on their opponent’s missed opportunities, including a penalty blunder by Percy Tau. Hamari Traoré and Lassine Sinayoko contributed to Mali’s 2-0 win, extending their clean sheet streak to three consecutive AFCON games. Given the historical trend of low-scoring encounters between Tunisia and Mali, with only three goals in their three previous meetings. We expect a tight and defensively-oriented match in their upcoming clash.
The Best Betting Odds for Tunisia vs Mali
| Markets | Odds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tunisia win |
2.78 
|
2.80 
|
2.75 
|
2.88 
|
2.89 
|
|
| Draw |
3.05
|
3.00
|
3.20
|
2.86
|
2.86
|
|
| Mali win |
2.76
|
2.77
|
2.75
|
2.79
|
2.80
|
|
| Over 1.5 |
1.43
|
1.50
|
1.48
|
1.45
|
1.45
|
|
| Over 1.5 |
1.43
|
1.50
|
1.48
|
1.45
|
1.45
|
|
| Over 1.5 |
1.43
|
1.50
|
1.48
|
1.45
|
1.45
|
|
Conclusion
This seems like the game of the underdogs, but Guinea could have the advantage based on the tenacity shown against the Indomitable Lions.
Samuel Okunsolawo is an iGaming expert with over six years of experience in content writing. His passion for simplifying complex concepts makes his articles accessible and useful for beginners and experts alike. With a focus on sports betting trends and reliable betting sites, Samuel’s articles are an excellent resource for those seeking guidance and staying up to date in the world of iGaming.