African Cup of Nations: Ghana to get the job done in Group B
Published:African Cup of Nations Group B concludes with two clashes that will see the winners advance and the losers board the first plane out of South Africa. We’ve gone over both the Democratic Republic of Congo’s clash with Mali and Niger versus Ghana with a fine-tooth comb and picked out some gems to take to the bank.
DR Congo v Mali
Third meets second in a match where the winner takes the lot. Congo would no doubt have settled for being in this position ahead of the final game, but recent form suggests it will be the Malians celebrating come the final whistle.
They’re 21/20 to win the match and, with four straight victories prior to their 1-0 loss to Ghana last time out, they’ll fancy their chances against a team who are four games without a win.
In terms of match betting, this has got to be the way to go, though the draw at 2/1 – which would also ensure Mali’s progression – could be worth a punt.
The best bet on this crunch clash, however, is for just one or neither team to find the back of the net. This outcome has been all the rage in the tournament to date and, at 4/5, it offers a decent pay out too. Furthermore, nine of Congo’s last 11 would have seen this bet cop and the same can be said of six of Mali’s last eight.
Niger v Ghana
Niger’s hopes of progression are a degree or two bleaker than Congo’s; they have to convincingly beat the Ghanaians, who occupy pole position in Group B, and hope things go their way from then on in.
Having any hope going into the final group game definitely entitles Niger to a certain amount of credit, though winning just two of their previous 17 games doesn’t and this fact exemplifies the task at hand when they face the Black Stars.
In stark contrast, Ghana have won five from six and there’s no looking past them here at 2/5.
Don’t expect them to pummel their technically-inferior opponents, however – six of Niger’s last 10 games have seen fewer than 1.5 goals scored and a price of 2/1 says an equally low haul will be served up here.
Despite this, the pick of the bets has to be a Ghana win to nil at 6/5. Of Niger’s previous 17 games, they’ve been unable to bag a goal in 13 whereas six of Ghana’s last four were won to nil and they’re more than capable of repeating the feat here.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
