Tunisia vs Nigeria Prediction & Match Preview

Peter Green - July 16, 2019

Tunisia vs Nigeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Date: Wednesday, 17 July 2019
Kick off at 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
Venue: Al Salam Stadium (Cairo).

A defeat in their respective semi-finals on Sunday meant that a third-place finish was the next best thing that either team would be setting their sights on.

Tunisia’s campaign so far has been less than exciting, with five of their last six games ending in a draw at the end of regulation time. The squad have preferred to defend deep inside their own half and have not been keen on racking up the goals.

Their strategy, however, failed to see them through in their last tie against Senegal. The Tunisians made just two attempts at goal in the first half, none of which were even on target.

Although they did bring the fireworks in the second half, they failed to beat the goalkeeper and pushed the game into extra time. An own goal ten minutes into the first quarter was enough to extinguish Alain Giresse’s side’s hopes of edging closer to the cup.

Their counterparts Nigeria, on the other hand, had their hearts broken by Algerian skipper Riyadh Mahrez who scored the winning goal in the dying minutes of stoppage time. Although Algeria went into the break with a goal in hand, the scores were leveled in the 72^nd minute through Ighalo who found the back of the net from the penalty spot.

Both the sides enjoyed equal time on the ball in that game, but despite the Nigerians making more attempts at goal than their foes, and managing more shots on target, they were unable to grab a late equalizer.

We can certainly expect an intense clash on Wednesday, with the Super Eagles sizing up as the favorites to take the win.

Tunisia vs Nigeria Head to head (h2h)

• The last three meetings between the two teams have finished in a tie.
• Their previous encounter, which was in 2016, ended in a 1-1 scoreline.
• Nigeria came out on top when the two sides last locked horns with each in the Africa Cup of Nations.
• Out of the thirteen times that they have taken each other on, Nigeria have won four times which is one more than Tunisia’s tally.

Tunisia vs Nigeria Prediction

The 3^rd place play-offs between Tunisia and Nigeria is more than likely to see Gernot Rohr’s men come out on top with a win.

The quarterfinal clash with Madagascar was the only game in which Tunisia walked away with a win at the end of the ninety minutes. Every other match, including the previous semi-final, have failed to find a decisive winner.

Nigeria may have fallen short by a goal against the mighty Algerians in the previous round, but that does not mean that they are any less of a threat. The squad have scored eight goals in the campaign so far, and have picked up their wins by the end of regulation time.

With the win certain to swing in favor of the Nigerians, we can also expect a low scoring fixture on Wednesday which is unlikely to go beyond the ninety minutes.

Tunisia vs Nigeria Betting tips

• Nigeria to win @ 2.45 (16/11)

• Under 2.5 goals @ 1.57 (4/7).