Egypt vs Congo DR Predictions

Hosts Egypt continue their push for glory this week, as they prepare for their second game of the group stage. The favourites for glory are heading into this clash hoping to build on a narrow 1-0 victory over Zimbabwe in the tournament opener. There’s plenty of pressure on Egypt to deliver in front of their supporters, as they have a lot to live up to. Can Egypt claim three points in this clash and book their place in the last 16 of the competition?

Egypt are certainly a side to fear in this competition, with seven titles to their name. They were brilliant during their golden period between 2006 and 2010, winning all three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in that period. They were hosts in 2006, which kicked off a period of domination across African football. Can the 2017 runners-up kick off a new era by claiming the title this summer?

We struggle to see DR Congo doing much to dent Egypt’s hopes. They kicked off their campaign with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Uganda, a defeat which has marked them out as a side who could now struggle to get through the group. While they do have some talented players to call upon, recent results for DR Congo suggest they are a side who are in disarray. A defeat here will all but rule them out of the tournament, but we struggle to see them matching Egypt.

The hosts are picking up where they left off in 2017 with their latest win. They claimed three 1-0 wins in 2017 to send them to the final, so they’ve proven themselves masters of the narrow win. A quick look at their recent record in home games shows what an advantage they have hosting the tournament, as they’ve won their last six games at home. They won four of their last five qualifiers to make the tournament, as they hadn’t been handed hosting duties when the qualifying campaign began.

Egypt come into this game having won four of their last five meetings with DR Congo, so we expect them to claim a victory. However, their recent tournament record marks them out as a low-scoring side. They’ve also seen fewer than three goals in four of their last five matches, which means we see value in backing Egypt and under 3.5 goals.