Senegal vs Cameroon Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Senegal came into the African Cup of Nations as our favourite for the trophy, and with good reason. They have a host of star players throughout the lineup, including Kalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Gueye, Mohamed Diame, Cheikhou Kouyate, Sadio Mane, Moussa Sow, and Keita Balde.

In addition to this well balanced lineup they were also in form having won eight of their nine matches building up to the tournament. They showed their class with a 2-0 win over Tunisia in the opener and then sealed qualification to the quarter finals with a 2-0 win over Zimbabwe. Sadio Mane scored in both of these games, and then ten starting players were rested in their final group game as they drew 2-2 with Algeria to top the group.

With current holders Ivory Coast now out of the competition, Senegal are overwhelming favourites for the title. They have won ten and lost just one of their last 12 matches and have been by far the best performing side so far this tournament, so Cameroon are likely to be rather pessimistic about their chances.

Cameroon have been by no means a bad side, but they have struggled to make their dominance count at key times. They only managed a 1-1 draw against a seemingly confused Burkina Faso in their opener, and whilst they did manage a 2-1 win over Guinea-Bissau they again failed to make their dominance count against Gabon in their goalless draw.

They are unbeaten in ten games now, but they haven’t had to face a side as talented as Senegal during this period. They will rely heavily on Benjamin Moukandjo and Christian Bassogog going forward, but the only top quality defender they have is Lyon’s Nicolas Nkoulou. It might be a big ask for him to deal with both Mane and Balde.

Senegal’s quality alone should be enough to see them through here, but the fact that their star players have had over a week to rest will be a big bonus as well. Mane has been in sensational form for both club and country this season and looks a steal at 7/4 to score anytime, whilst odds of 11/10 for a Senegal Win look hugely valuable as well. I’m going for another 2-0 win at 15/2 for my correct score predictions too.