After my successful picks last week ( as if you need to be a genius to know that Manchester is going to beat Hull…!), it would be tempting to make a mixed leagues/tournaments pick again.
Nevertheless I've decided to devote this week's picks to the African Cup of Nations that has reached the semifinals stage.

These are my opinions:


African Cup of Nations: Ghana vs Nigeria
28.01.2010 at 17:00

Despite the slow start to the competition, Ghana are in a position to fight for a place in the finals after beating Angola in front of 60,000 home fans against all odds, and against most of the best sportbetting sites previews.
The Black Stars will face Nigeria in the semis, now that the Super Eagles defeated Zambia on penalties. We should see a very interesting match. Both sides have yet to show their full potential and the fans are most certainly hoping that happens in this match.

Ghana were seen as one of the tournament favorites even before boss Milovan Rajevac announced the squad, but the optimism subsided after several key players were forced to withdraw due to injuries. Without the likes of Essien, Appiah, Muntari, Mensah and Paintsil, the Black Stars were not given too big a chance to make it to the final stages of the tournament, but the boss found the right blend of experienced internationals and players from the Under-20 squad that had won the Under-20 World Cup and that proved to be the winning combination. The Black Stars are, therefore, the favorites in this clash.

With no fresh injuries to report and after the good performance against Angola, Rajevac is tempted to go with the same side that started the Angola match. this means that the Black Stars will line up in 4-2-3-1 formation with Asamoah Gyan as a lone striker, with the impressive Kwando Asamoah pulling the strings in midfield.

Nigeria were very lucky to make it to the semis since they were far from impressive in all their appearances at the tournament. Furthermore, the lack of a creative midfielder is really doing a lot of damage to the scoring department.

Shaibu Amodu is set to field a 4-3-3 formation with Yakubu, Odemwingie and Obasi up front, although Obafemi Martins could still make the starting line-up if he passes the fitness check. Kaita, Etuhu and Mikel are certain starters in the center of the park, while defense is definitely the weakest part of the team, regardless of the players that occupy the starting places. Onyekachi Apam is suspended after the red card against Zambia, with Joseph Yobo likely to replace him in the starting line-up.

My Betting advice

Milovan Rajevac managed to create a very good Team even without his starting players, and the big quality of this team is that the players are hungry for success. The Black Stars have played pretty well so far and I expect them to make it to the final at the expense of under-performing Nigeria, who should feel lucky to have gone this far.

 

Ghana vs Nigeria head to head stats:


Last 5 Ghana matches:
24.01 ACN Angola-Ghana Angola vs Ghana goals 0:1 (0:1)
19.01 ACN B Burkina Faso-Ghana Burkina Faso vs Ghana goals 0:1 (0:1)
15.01 ACN B Ivory Coast-Ghana Ivory Coast vs Ghana goals 3:1 (1:0)
05.01 FRIEND Ghana-Malawi 0:0 (0:0)
18.11 FRIEND Angola-Ghana 0:0 (0:0)

Last 5 Nigeria matches:
25.01 ACN Zambia - Nigeria Zambia vs Nigeria goals 0:0 (0:0)
20.01 ACN C Nigeria - Mozambique Nigeria vs Mozambique goals 3:0 (1:0)
16.01 ACN C Nigeria - Benin Nigeria vs Benin goals 1:0 (1:0)
12.01 ACN C Egypt - Nigeria Egypt vs Nigeria goals 3:1 (1:1)
14.11 WCQ Kenya - Nigeria Kenya vs Nigeria goals 2:3 (1:0)


Last 5 Ghana home matches:
05.01 FRIEND Ghana-Malawi 0:0 (0:0)
15.11 WCQ Ghana-Mali Ghana vs Mali goals 2:2 (0:1)
06.09 WCQ Ghana-Sudan 2:0 (1:0)
29.03 WCQ Ghana-Benin 1:0 (1:0)
11.09 WCQ Ghana-Lesotho 3:0 (2:0)

Last 5 Nigeria away matches:
25.01 ACN Zambia - Nigeria Zambia vs Nigeria goals 0:0 (0:0)
12.01 ACN C Egypt - Nigeria Egypt vs Nigeria goals 3:1 (1:1)
14.11 WCQ Kenya - Nigeria Kenya vs Nigeria goals 2:3 (1:0)
20.06 WCQ Tunisia - Nigeria 0:0 (0:0)
29.03 WCQ Mozambique - Nigeria 0:0 (0:0)

 

 


African Cup of Nations: Algeria vs Egypt
28.01.2010 at 20:30

This should be a very intense affair between the bitter rivals and both national teams will have something to prove.
Algeria aim to show everyone that they deserve to be among the best teams in Africa, whereas the Pharaohs want to get revenge on the Fennecs for the defeat that cost them the place at the World Cup in South Africa.

Algeria had a very slow start in the competition, having succumbed to a shocking defeat to Mozambique in the opening game, but Rabah Saadane’s men just kept improving and they are now in a position to fight for the place in the finals. The Fennecs played a very good game against Ivory Coast, having twice come from behind to earn the invaluable victory after extra time. The Algerians scored no less than three goals against a very good Ivory Coast side and they are certainly hoping to continue the good run against their bitter rivals Egypt. However, due to the importance of the game, neither side will be pushing forward too hard and we should see a very tight game, especially in the first period.

Rabah Saadane was finally able to field his strongest line-up against the Elephants after Meghni and Yahia had recovered from injuries and we don’t expect to see any changes to the starting line-up. Abdelkader Ghezal will again operate as a lone striker but he will have a lot of help from Meghni, Matmour and Ziani.

If we take into account the performances they have shown in Angola so far, Egypt must be considered one of the main candidates for the trophy, if not the only one.
The Pharaohs are definitely not the best team at this tournament, but their style of football produces the best results, which is all that matters in the end.
Rock-solid defense and tight midfield allow the team to launch swift counterattacks that have helped them score a lot of goals in this tournament. Hassan Shehata will deploy the same approach against Algeria and we expect it to pay off once again.

Egyptians are very motivated to get revenge on the Algerians for the aforementioned defeat in the World Cup qualifiers, although this team play every game as if it's the World Cup final. Hassan Shahata should stick to the same side that beat Cameroon 3:1 after extra time, although excellent midfielder Gedo is pushing for the starting place.

My Betting advice

Egypt have shown the most of all teams so far, and they are definitely the favorites in this match. The Pharaohs have an extra motive in this game and I don’t think Algerians can match them in terms of quality, motivation and team spirit. Therefore, I expect Egypt to progress to the final.

Algeria vs Egypt head to head stats:


Last 5 Algeria matches:
24.01 ACN Ivory Coast-Algeria Ivory Coast vs Algeria goals 2:2 (1:1)
18.01 ACN A Angola-Algeria Angola vs Algeria goals 0:0 (0:0)
14.01 ACN A Mali-Algeria Mali vs Algeria goals 0:1 (0:1)
11.01 ACN A Malawi-Algeria Malawi vs Algeria goals 3:0 (2:0)
18.11 WCQ Egypt-Algeria Egypt vs Algeria goals 0:1 (0:1)

Last 5 Egypt matches:
25.01 ACN Egypt - Cameroon Egypt vs Cameroon goals 1:1 (1:1)
20.01 ACN C Egypt - Benin Egypt vs Benin goals 2:0 (2:0)
16.01 ACN C Egypt - Mozambique Egypt vs Mozambique goals 2:0 (0:0)
12.01 ACN C Egypt - Nigeria Egypt vs Nigeria goals 3:1 (1:1)
04.01 FRIEND Egypt - Mali Egypt vs Mali goals 1:0 (0:0)


Last 5 Algeria home matches:
11.10 WCQ Algeria-Rwanda Algeria vs Rwanda goals 3:1 (2:1)
06.09 WCQ Algeria-Zambia Algeria vs Zambia goals 1:0 (0:0)
07.06 WCQ Algeria-Egypt 3:1 (0:0)
05.09 WCQ Algeria-Senegal 3:2 (0:0)


Last 5 Egypt away matches:
10.10 WCQ Zambia - Egypt Zambia vs Egypt goals 0:1 (0:0)
05.09 WCQ Rwanda - Egypt Rwanda vs Egypt goals 0:1 (0:0)
07.06 WCQ Algeria - Egypt 3:1 (0:0)
7.9WCQ DR Congo - Egypt 0:1 (0:1)

 

Considering that the tournament Final is being played on Sunday, I'll give you all my prediction in advance:
In the end, I'm pretty sure Ghana and Egypt will be the finalists, as I've already said, and Egypt will win the tournament and get the precious Cup for the third consecutive time.

It's not like Ghana doesn't deserve to win, but they haven't been very consistent, unlike Egypt.

Having said that, in football, you never really know anything until the match is over.

 

Check Out Bodog Sport and Stan James to see all of the different sports related bets available.

Enjoy!