Burkina Faso vs Egypt Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Burkina Faso managed another upset on Saturday as they beat Tunisia 2-0 to book their place in the African Cup of Nations semi-final. This is reminiscent of the form that took them all the way to the final in 2013, but first they have to make their way past the defensively sound Egypt.

That win over Tunisia made it four wins, three draws, and two defeats in their last nine matches in all competitions, and they have truly come a long way since the confused start to the tournament against Cameroon.

Egypt will be no pushovers though. They may not have a tremendous amount of talent in their squad, but their defensive organisation is better than any other team in the African Cup of Nations.

They beat Morocco 1-0 on Sunday to make it three consecutive 1-0 victories in this competition, and they still haven’t conceded a single goal all tournament. This excellent defensive stability extends further back as well, with them conceding just four goals in their last 14 matches and keeping a clean sheet for six games in a row now.

The Pharaohs have a rich pedigree in this tournament too. They have won it a record seven times and won it three times on the bounce between 2006 and 2010, although their failure to qualify in 2012, 2013, and 2015 has dampened their reputation a bit.

Egypt’s excellent defence does mean they have to make some sacrifices though. Whilst Ali Gabr and Ahmed Hegazy take the plaudits in the centre of defence, the strikers are often rather isolated and it generally results in very low scoring games. They haven’t seen two or more goals in a game in their last five outings and it’s happened just four times in their last 11 games.

These goals tend to come late on as well, with four of their last five goals coming in the final ten minutes and only one coming in the first half. Only two of Burkina Faso’s six goals this tournament have come in the first half as well, meaning in their last nine combined matches five of them have been goalless at half time and the teams in question have scored just three first half goals between them. Odds of 6/5 for Under 0.5 First Half Goals look good value for money, especially since things are likely to be tight due to it being a semi-final clash. I’m going for a trademark 1-0 win for Egypt at 9/2 as well.