Algeria and Ivory Coast will battle it out for a place in the semi-final of the 2023 African Nations Championship on Friday when they face off at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.

Both teams wrapped up their respective group-stage campaigns on a high and now set out to pick up where they left off in what promises to be a thrilling affair.

Match preview

Host nation Algeria delivered another statement of intent as they eased past the threat of Mozambique thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory in the sides' meeting on Saturday.

Hocine Dehiri opened the scoring in the seventh minute after which Madjid Bougherra's men spurned a number of good chances to put the game to bed.

As a result, the Fennec Foxes have now won all of their three CHAN matches without conceding a single goal en route to finishing top of Group A.

Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the sides, as the last five clashes have yielded two wins apiece and a draw.

Aiming to equal their best-ever CHAN finish which saw them reach the last four in 2011, Algeria will back themselves to get the job done in front of their fans once again.

Ivory Coast kick-started their African Nations Championship journey with a convincing 3-1 triumph over the Cranes of Uganda on Sunday evening.

Souhalio Haidara's men flew out of the blocks through goals from Karamoko Sankara and Patrick Ouotro after which Moses Waiswa pulled one back, only for Aubin Kramo to seal the deal in the 78th minute.

That win saw the Elephants rack up four points from their three Group B fixtures, finishing two points adrift of Senegal at the top of the standings.

Fresh off the back of ending a four-game winless run across all competitions, Ivory Coast now go in search of back to back victories for the first time since November.

Team News

Algeria's Hocine Dehiri marked his return to the lineup with a fine finish last time out, and he is expected to retain his place in the starting XI for this one.

Having recorded three clean sheets in a row, Alexis Guendouz should feature between the sticks once again, fending off competition from Chamseddine Rahmani.

Karamoko Sankara was directly involved in two of Ivory Coast's three goals against Uganda, making the 19-year-old one to keep an eye on here.

Mohamed Zougrana served a one-game suspension in the aforementioned match, and the midfielder is now eligible to make his return to action.

Algeria possible starting lineup:
Guendouz; Baouche, Dehiri, Ghezala, Keddad; Belkhir, Draoui, Chita; Aribi, Djahnit, Redouani

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:
Folly; Gbai, Siahoune, Doumbia, Attohoula; Aka, Zougrana; Kramo, Zouzoua, Konate; Sankara

We say: Algeria 2-1 Ivory Coast

The teams have shown they are capable of scoring goals, so we expect at least one at both ends of the pitch. We are also tipping Algeria to edge out Ivory Coast and emerge victorious in the end.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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