Cameroon vs Guinea-Bissau Predictions

Will defending champions Cameroon take the trophy again at this summer’s African Nations Cup? They were supposed to be the side hosting the tournament, but a reshuffle in the hosting schedule has seen their tournament moved to 2021. Now the champions are aiming to make a mark in Egypt, as they look to top Group F. They are going up against Ghana and Benin in this pool, but first, they take on Guinea-Bissau this week.

Cameroon come into this tournament coached by Clarence Seedorf, who will be aiming to improve a mixed record as a manager following his short reign at AC Milan. He’s taken an attack-heavy side to Egypt, naming eight forwards in his squad, as they look to live up to their success in 2017. Chief among those forwards are wingers Christian Bassogog and Clinton N’Jie. Both have enough talent to light up this tournament, while they’re hitting their mid-twenties so should be expected to make their mark in Egypt.

Guinea-Bissau have a squad heavily influenced by Portuguese football. Their squad is full of players from European leagues, but there are few stand-out names. They just made this tournament for the first time in 2017, losing to Cameroon as they went on to claim glory. Guinea-Bissau went out in the group stage two years ago with only a point to their name, so we aren’t expecting much from them this time around. Their side is short on the quality required at this level, while there are problems for the minnows in defence.

Guinea-Bissau conceded twice in three of their final five qualifiers, struggling at the back against the likes of Mozambique and Zambia. That’s left concerns over their defence going into this summer, especially given that they are facing two of the 2017 semi-finalists in this group. To make matters worse, they aren’t coming here with much experience. Only two members of the squad have 17 caps or more to their name. Guinea-Bissau have little chance against some quality sides, while we expect Cameroon to cause problems from the start.

While the Indomitable Lions may struggle in the long term under Seedorf, we expect them to make a strong start here. They are worthy favourites to record a third straight win over Guinea-Bissau, while the champions have brought firepower in an attempt to retain their crown. They have scored three against Comoros and two against Zambia in recent matches, while they should add to that given how they’re likely to shape up in attack. Given that, we’re backing more defensive issues for Guinea-Bissau, over 1.5 Cameroon goals is our tip.