Mali vs Central African Republic Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 20/11/2023, 05:08  by Devesh Jaganath in World Cup Predictions

Mali will play host to the Central African Republic in the second round of matches at the CAF World Cup Qualifiers on Monday evening. The hosts are currently in second place in Group I, while the visitors are fifth. Mali come into this match following a 3-1 win over Chad in their first match of the competition. Comoros and Ghana also won their first-round matches. Les Aigles football has improved significantly over the last few years. They are ranked in the top 10 in Africa according to FIFA and are now on a five-match winning streak. The hosts were excellent in AFCON qualifying as well, topping their group with 15 points in six matches. Notably, Kamory Doumbia has scored four goals in his last four games. Mali are the clear favourites in this one. 

Meanwhile, the Central African Republic suffered a 4-2 loss to Comoros on Friday. However, that scoreline somewhat flatters them as both their goals were actually own-goals by the opponent. That result extends their recent record to three losses in a row, which included defeats against Ghana and Angola. The only side they have beaten in their last six matches was Madagascar. The Wild Beasts’ away record is also quite poor, with seven losses in their last ten matches on the road. They also conceded two or more goals in six of those defeats. The visitors failed to qualify for the upcoming AFCON after finishing third in their group behind Ghana and Angola. Ranked 131st in the world, they are unsurprisingly priced at long odds.