AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria - Predictions, H2H, expected lineups, and key match insights

With the intensity of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) set to progress to a new gear with the heavyweights set to take on each other in the second set of fixtures in the tournament, here is everything you should know about the Ivory Coast vs Nigeria fixture scheduled for kick-off today, Thursday, January 18, 2024.

Ivory Coast vs Nigeria is a must-win AFCON 2023 fixture for the Super Eagles in their bid to salvage what is left of their 20th campaign in the tournament. The result against Equatorial Guinea had left many stunned and has also led to questions about the team's ability to qualify out of Group A.

Cote d'Ivoire on the other hand got off to a flying start securing all three points against Guinea-Bissau in a strong 2-0 victory in their opening fixture of AFCON 2023. The team's game play on the other hand had raised eyebrows as football fans worldwide believe that The Elephants have not been tested in the competition and as such the real test lies in a side like the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Ivory Coast vs Nigeria injury update

The recent update from the Super Eagles of Nigeria camp ahead of the Ivory Coast AFCON 2023 showdown indicates that all 25 players are fit but only 24 will be available as Alhassan Yusuf is poised to miss the second fixture of the Eagles. This confirmation was made by the head coach of Nigeria Peseiro in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) might also be forced to be without key players such as Sebastian Haller and Simon Adingra who had both missed the first AFCON 2023 game for the team due to injury. It has however been confirmed that Simon Adingra had trained with the team and is expected to at least be available on the bench for Ivory Coast ahead of the fixture against Nigeria at AFCON 2023.

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Ivory Coast vs Nigeria Head to head (h2h) History and Results

Ivory Coast and Nigeria have met each other a total of 27 times across all competitions, qualifiers and friendlies. The favour is however in the favour of Ivory Coast who have managed to defeat Nigeria in their last two meetings first at the 2013 AFCON

Ivory Coast has a slight edge on head-to-head record, having won each of the last two meetings between the two nations - a 2015 friendly and at the 2013 African Nations Championship and the 2015 friendly fixture.

This is expected to be a rivalry of all proportions with both sides playing for it all on the pitch later today.

Ivory Coast wins: 9

Nigeria wins: 8

Draws: 10

Predicted Starting lineup for Ivory Coast vs Nigeria

With both sides looking to name a strong side in today's fixture here are the predicted lineups for Ivory Coast vs Nigeria AFCON 2023 clash:

Predicted Ivory Coast XI: Fofana, Singo, Diomande, Ndicka, Konan, Kessie, Sangare, Fofana, Boga, Krasso, Adingra

inured: Haller

Predicted Nigeria XI: Nwabali, Aina, Troost-Ekong, Ajayi, Sanusi, Iheancho, Aribo, Iwobi, Simon, Lookman, Osimhen

Injured: Yusuf

Time for Ivory Coast vs Nigeria AFCON fixture

Here are key details in regard to the time, date, and venue for the Ivory Coast vs Nigeria fixture and where to watch as well:

Time and date: 6 pm WAT on Thursday, January 18, 2024

Venue: Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan

TV channel and live stream: DSTV, NTA, StarTimes

Scoreline prediction:

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are expected to want to prove a point in the fixture against Ivory Coast today as the result of this fixture will be crucial in shaping their future in the next stage of AFCON 2023. Cote d'Ivoire will be playing in front of the home crowd and as such will have a lot on the line as the host of the competition with questions about the teams' strength and ability the players will also want to make a statement in this fixture.

We expect Nigeria to go all out today and as such we predict a 3-1 scoreline in favour of Nigeria.

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