Djibouti and Pakistan draw the curtain on their 2023 Four Nations Cup friendly tournament when they face off at the Stade de Cote d'Or on Saturday.
Mohamed Meraneh Hassan's men picked up a deserved 3-1 victory over host nation Mauritius on Wednesday and currently hold a three-point lead at the top of the group.
Match preview
Djibouti turned in a performance of the highest quality on Wednesday when they came from behind to pick up a 3-1 victory over Mauritius at the Cote d'Or National Complex.
After falling behind to Ashley Nazira's 25th-minute strike, Samuel Akinbinu, Gabriel Dadzie and Mohamed Fouad Mohamed scored second-half goals to turn the game on its head.
The Riverains de la Mer Rouge were previously on a run of eight consecutive defeats across all competitions, a run which saw them finish rock-bottom in Group A of the World Cup qualifiers.
Following their walkover over Kenya on June 11, Wednesday's victory has seen Djibouti move to the top of the Four Nations Cup standings, three points above second-placed Mauritius.
Pakistan, on the other hand, were left empty handed once again as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of East Africans Kenya when the sides faced off on Wednesday.
Kakamega Homeboyz striker Moses Shumah had a debut to remember as he scored the only goal of the game in the 17th minute to fire the Harambee Stars to victory.
Prior to that, Pakistan kicked off their Four Nations Cup with a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Mauritius on June 11 courtesy of goals from Jeremy Villeneuve, Ashley Nazira and a 71st-minute own goal from Mamoon Mossa Khan.
With Wednesday's defeat, Shahzad Anwar's men have now lost eight games on the spin across all competitions, scoring three goals and conceding 15 goals in that time.
The Pak Shaheen, whose last win came in September 2018 when they beat Bhutan 3-0, will be looking to pick up a morale-boosting result this weekend ahead of their 2023 South Asian Football Federation Championship later this month.
Pakistan kick off their SAFF Championship next Wednesday when they take on record eight-time champions India in the Group A opener at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
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Team News
Mohamed opened his account for the Djibouti national team against Mauritius on Wednesday and the 23-year-old will look to pick up where he dropped off in midweek.
With his strike in the aforementioned game, Akinbinu has scored in back-to-back games for the Riverains de la Mer Rouge and should spearhead their attack once again.
Despite their defeat to Kenya, we expect Anwar to name a similar XI this weekend, meaning that we could see a back four of Ali Khan Niazi, Easah Suliman, Mamoon Mossa Khan and Mohammad Sufyan Asif once again.
Redditch United man Rahis Nabi, who started both games against Pakistan and Kenya, should retain his role in the centre of the park, alongside 23-year-old Ali Uzair Mahmood.
At the attacking end of the pitch, we expect Grimsby Town striker Otis Khan to team up with Queens Park Rangers youngster Harun Hamid and veteran striker Hassan Bashir.
Pakistan possible starting lineup:
Mbonihankuye; Hamadou, Batio, Aden, Siad; Hassan, Mahabeh, Ahmed; Mohamed, Elabeh, Akinbinu
Djibouti possible starting lineup:
Butt; Niazi, Suliman, Khan, Asif; Iqbal, Nabi, Mahmood; Hamid, O Khan, Bashir
We say: Pakistan 0-1 Djibouti
Buoyed by their impressive display against Mauritius, Djibouti will head into the weekend with renewed confidence as they look to pick up successive victories. The Pak Shaheen have lost their last eight games across all competitions and we predict that Hassan's side will claim all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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