The Barea of Madagascar will hope to continue their dream of a successful debut in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) when they square up against the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo inside the main bowl of the Alexandria Stadium where all their AFCON dreams have come true so far.
Madagascar in their first outing on the continent stunned one of the favourites, Nigeria, to the summit of group B to set up this crunchy tie with a DR Congo who had just one victory going into this tie, an emphatic 4-0 thumping of Zimbabwe to emerge as one of the best third placed teams.
Two time AFCON Champions, DR Congo are favourites going into this tie with an impressive array of stars in the likes of Youssuf Mulumbu, Arthur Masuaku, Yannick Bolasie and Cedric Bakambu but must be wary of the banana peel in the mould of Madagascar, who have proven that they can stun any team if they aim to reclaim the title they last won in 1974.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Madagascar: Charles Andriamahitsinoro who plies his trade in Saudi Arabia for Al-Adalah FC has scored twice and assisted once in this tournament and is among the 10 players still in the running for the top scorer award.
DR Congo: Cedric Bakambu of Beijing Guoang FC has the best return of all his fellow DR Congolese forwards in the national team and has also scored twice in this tournament. He will hope to add to his tally and carry his native country further into the tournament.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS: Both teams will likely name unchanged sides from their last match as both teams had their best results in the tournament so far.
Madagascar: Melvin; Metanire, Razakanantenaina, Fontaine, Mombris; Ilaimaharitra, Abel, Amada; Andriamahitsinoro, Andriatsima.
DR Congo: Matampi; Mpeko, Mbemba, Tisserand, Muzinga; Akolo, Mulumbu, Moke, Maghoma; Bolingi, Bakambu
Kickoff: 16:00 BST
Venue: Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt
Date: Sunday, 7th July
Guest Writer: Nmaju John
