Mali vs Tunisia Tips & Preview - Extra-time to decide close encounter

By Tolu Shotade

9 seconds ago

Tolu Shotade 9 seconds ago

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Mali and Tunisia evenly matched ahead of AFCON Round of 16.
Both teams have shown defensive vulnerabilities in the group stage.
Expect goals, with extra-time and penalties a real possibility.

Mali vs Tunisia

A place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations is the prize as Mali face Tunisia in a round of 16 clash at the Stade Mohamed V.

Neither team was particularly convincing in the group stage and appear evenly matched heading into this clash. With little to separate both sides at the moment, Saturday’s clash could be decided in extra-time and possibly penalties.

Mali News

Mali finished the group stage unbeaten but were not overly impressive in their three matches. Having drawn all three fixtures in Group A, Tom Saintfiet’s team qualified in second place after racking up just three points.

Les Aigles rounded off their group stage campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Comoros. However, they will take the positives from the 1-1 scoreline with Morocco in their second fixture, which ended the North Africans’ 19-match winning run.

The draw with Comoros was the first match in this tournament without a goal for Mali, who had scored in their previous two fixtures. They also failed to keep a clean sheet in those two matches, both of which produced over 1.5 goals.

Tunisia News

Tunisia were also not particularly impressive in the group stage, with one win and one defeat from their three matches. Sami Trabelsi's team finished second in Group C to secure a place in the round of 16.

The Carthage Eagles are coming off a 1-1 draw with Tanzania in their final group stage fixture. They struck first through Ismael Gharbi but were pegged back just after the break.

Tunisia have shown some attacking quality at the AFCON and scored in their three group stage matches. However, they failed to keep a clean sheet in all three fixtures, which also produced over 1.5 goals.

Head to Head

Mali have four wins while Tunisia have been victorious three times, with as many draws in the last 10 matches. Both teams met in the group stage of the 2023 AFCON, battling to a 1-1 draw.

Verdict

Mali v Tunisia

Both teams have shown some defensive vulnerability in this competition, and with Tunisia’s three matches offering up over 1.5 goals, a repeat could be considered. There have also been goals for both sides in all three fixtures, and Saturday’s clash could be set to produce a similar outcome.

There is little to separate Mali and Tunisia heading into this clash as they appear evenly matched. With Les Aigles drawing their three group stage matches, another stalemate could be on the cards here.

Over 1.5

Total Goals

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Yes

Both Teams to Score

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Draw

Full Time Result

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