Friday match predictions & Africa Cup of Nations betting tips

Best bets and analysis for Friday's matches in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports from 1pm Friday

Best bets

Zimbabwe to beat Malawi 4pm
1pt 11-8 bet365, Betfred

Ghana to beat Gabon 7pm
1pt 19-20 bet365, Betfair, Betfred

Friday's betting preview

All of the main contenders have had a taste of the action and the competition starts to get serious for Group B leaders Guinea and Senegal, who go head-to-head in Bafoussam.

Group C heavyweights Morocco are aiming to continue their winning start against minnows Comoros, while Ghana will be looking for their first points and goals in their clash against Gabon.

Senegal v Guinea

Sky Sports Football & Premier League, 1pm

Senegal's preparations for the tournament were affected by a combination of injuries and Covid but they overcame the absence of 11 of their 28-man squad to defeat Zimbabwe 1-0 on Monday and will be looking for an improvement when taking on Guinea at the Kouekong Stadium.

Guinea's scratchy 1-0 success over Malawi has established them as the main rivals to Senegal for Group B supremacy.

While the Malawi match was seen as a must-win from a Guinea perspective, the Senegal fixture is one where a draw would be a satisfactory outcome.

Senegal will feel under pressure to push for the win but they have ongoing injury and illness doubts to contend with and could be drawn into a close contest.

Malawi v Zimbabwe

Sky Sports Premier League, 4pm

Zimbabwe were gutted to concede an injury-time penalty in their 1-0 loss to Senegal but they came away from the match with plenty of positives and can drag themselves back into contention by defeating Malawi in Bafoussam.

The Zimbabweans had their moments against Senegal and should be able to open their scoring account against Malawi, who are competing at the Africa Cup of Nations for only the third time in their history.

Malawi were fortunate to get away with just a 1-0 defeat against Guinea on Monday and may struggle to avoid another reverse.

Morocco v Comoros

Sky Sports Football & Main Event, 4pm

Morocco's 1-0 success over Ghana felt like one of the more significant results among a low-key opening round of fixtures, and it seems highly likely that the Atlas Lions will pick up another three points against debutants Comoros in Yaounde.

Vahid Halilhodzic's side are genuine contenders for the trophy and should be far too strong for Comoros, who began their campaign with a 1-0 loss to Gabon.

Gabon v Ghana

Sky Sports Football, 7pm

Ghana are under a bit of pressure after losing 1-0 to Morocco in a battle of Group C's heavyweight teams, but they can begin their fightback by defeating Gabon at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo.

There is room for improvement from Ghana, who lost the shot count 12 to five against Morocco and could not have too many complaints over the outcome.

However, there were flashes of ability from exciting Genk attacker Joseph Paintsil and there is enough quality in Ghana's ranks to ensure a more positive experience against Gabon, who are likely to be brought back down to earth after scraping an unconvincing 1-0 success over Comoros.

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport