Burkina Faso vs Cameroon Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Burkina Faso come into this group stage with every possibility of outpacing slight favourites Cameroon to 2nd place, with hosts Gabon being the favourites to top the group after the three matches. However, that makes this clash the most important of the lot for both of these sides, as a defeat could potentially see them exit the competition very early on.

Burkina Faso actually managed to make it to the finals of the African Cup of Nations as recently as 2013, but the 2015 instalment saw them eliminated at the group stage. Now they look to utilise their attacking talents to make it through to the knockout stages.

Alain Traore could prove the most influential player in this respect. The Kayserispor midfielder has 19 goals in his 43 international appearances, whilst strikers Jonathan Pitroipa and Aristide Bance have 18 and 17 goals respectively in 68 and 60 appearances. Ajax forward Bertrand Traore is another threat, although he is yet to set the world alight on an international scale.

The warm up friendlies could have gone better for Burkina Faso though. They lost to both Morocco and Mali after earning 13 points in their six qualification games. This is a relatively low tally to win the group on, and they only just edged Uganda out on head to head results.

Cameroon, despite the likes of Joel Matip and Allan Nyom withdrawing due to pay disputes, are the favourites. They have managed to beat Congo and draw with Zimbabwe in their warm up friendlies and are now unbeaten in six games in all competitions. They earned 14 points from their AFCON qualifying group, remaining unbeaten and beating Mauritania to the top spot by six points in the end.

They may be missing a few very useful players, but there are plenty of them present and correct. Lyon defender Nicolas Nkoulou has racked up 71 appearances at the age of just 26, whilst Besiktas striker Vincent Aboubakar will be hoping to add to his 14 international goals. Former Spurs winger Clinton N’Jie has scored six goals in his 15 appearances for Cameroon, and 21 year old Christian Bassogog has scored one goal in two outings.

Cameroon are understandably favourites to get the three points here, especially considering Burkina Faso’s poor warm up campaign. As such I think odds of 21/20 for a Cameroon win are good value, so I’m backing that alongside a 2-1 correct score predictions at 17/2. I also think Vincent Aboubakar will add to his impressive international tally. The striker has scored more than a goal every two games for club and country this season, so backing him at 11/5 looks a good choice for the anytime goalscorer predictions.