Africa Cup of Nations: Egypt at Home’s a Surefire Bet

Egypt vs Zimbabwe

The wait is over folks and the action is about to begin as Egypt takes on Zimbabwe in the opening fixture of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

We’ll be following all the action right here at SBOBET and it promises to be a fantastic competition. The latest AFCON 2019 betting odds have the hosts, Egypt, as favourites, but there will be stiff competition from Nigeria, Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The tournament has switched to mid-year from its previous January/February window and that’s a smart move, so we can enjoy the action in the domestic close season.

Egypt has the best player in the competition in Mo Salah and he’ll be looking forward to this opener after another stunning season in the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool. Salah scored a hat-trick the last time Egypt faced Zimbabwe and it would make his year if his country can be as successful as club.

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First, the favourites have to negotiate Group A, which also contains Uganda and DR Congo, but that shouldn’t be a problem for Javier Aguirre’s men, providing they make a winning start against Zimbabwe, and at odds of 1.18, we fully expect them to succeed.

Talking Points

Home is where the heart is

If ever there was home advantage in a contest then this could well be it. The Egyptians love their football and love their team. 90,000 fans in the Borg el Arab Stadium erupted when Salah scored a last-minute penalty against Congo to send the Pharaohs to the World Cup in Russia. An injury to their talisman damaged their prospects at the finals, but there is no denying their strength on home soil.

Egypt has won the last 11 matches here and has an unbeaten home record spanning back three years. Aguirre has got this team playing exciting attacking football, scoring 20 goals in the last eight games. A lot rests on Salah’s shoulders but we could see some goals from Olympiacos striker Kouka, who may line up alongside the Liverpool star, hoping to add to his five international strikes.

Behind the front men, midfield playmaker Mohamed El Neny has Arsenal pedigree and 72 caps to his name, while Captain Ahmed El Mohamady is a defensive rock, with 88 caps, and he could line up alongside West Brom star Ahmed Hegazi.

Africa Cup of Nations 2019 updates: Javier Aguirre has made Egypt entertaining to watch — Egypt’s coach Javier Aguirre looks on during a news conference at Cairo International Stadium

Zimbabwe’s star is Marvelous

Head coach Sunday Chidzambwa knows his Zimbabwe side arrives in Egypt as overwhelming underdogs and they’ll have to weather an early storm if they are to keep a passionate home crowd quiet. He has a solid team which isn’t easy to beat, but he doesn’t have many household names to call on.

One man who can get the Zimbabwe fans excited is Brugges midfielder Marvelous Nakamba. The 25-year-old left footer has European experience having signed for Vitesse Arnhem in the Dutch Eredivisie, winning the KNVB Cup in 2017, before switching to Club Brugges in a £4 million deal. He’s the man Egypt needs to keep an eye on.

History

The home side is embarking on an African Cup of Nations for the 23^rd time and they have an impressive record, winning seven times, and they finished as runners up in 2017, meanwhile, this is Zimbabwe’s fourth appearance.

The last time these two teams met, when Salah hit his hat-trick, Egypt ran out 2-4 winners, and the Pharaohs won a corresponding fixture earlier in the year by 2-1.

In fact, Egypt has won the four previous meetings, scoring at least twice on every occasion. The hosts’ three year undefeated run at home covers 16 games and it will be a tough task for Zimbabwe to put that record under serious threat.

But Chidzambwa’s team comes into the game with three wins from six, earning an impressive draw with Nigeria last week.

Betting Tip

	Egypt vs Zimbabwe	Egypt first half 1×2 @1.72
	June 22, 04:00(GMT+8)

Even so, Zimbabwe is at 9.75 to win on Friday, with the draw at 6.00 and I really can’t see either of those outcomes. Egypt’s attacking style of play sometimes leaves their defence a little exposed but I doubt Zimbabwe will be able to exploit that with any great success.

The Pharaohs have only failed to score once in the last ten games and they will attack their opponents from the first whistle.

Mo Salah is going to be big AFCON 2019 news for sure, but with some world class players in the other fancied sides, not least Senegal’s Sadio Mane, the Egypt talisman would dearly love to make a statement in the opening fixture and I expect him to score at least once.