Matchday one of the 2023 African Nations Championship sees Congo DR and Uganda go head-to-head at the Stade 19 Mai 1956 on Saturday evening.
Both teams failed to come out on top in their respective most recent outings and they will be seeking to get back to winning ways this weekend.
Match preview
Congo DR fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against the Eagles of Mali in a friendly encounter at the Stade Municipale Bou Ali-Lahouar on Wednesday.
Sebastien Desabre's men went behind to Makan Samabaly's 19th-minute strike, and that was enough to put them to the sword despite a late second-half fightback.
That ended a run of two straight wins for the Leopards, who had earlier seen off the Libya and Sierra Leone emphatically by a combined score of 6-1.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have suffered defeat in just one of the previous five meetings between the teams, winning the other four.
Aiming to become the first team to win three CHAN titles, Congo DR set out to lay down an early marker in their opening fixture ahead of daunting tasks against Ivory Coast and Senegal to follow.
Uganda had to settle for a share of the spoils in their warm-up fixture against Mali, which ended in a goalless stalemate on Monday afternoon.
Milutin Sredojevic's men were under the cosh for the majority of the contest but held firm to avoid defeat, thanks in no small part to an inspired shot stopper between the sticks.
Consequently, the Cranes are now unbeaten in all but one of their last seven matches across all competitions, with a narrow 1-0 loss against Tanzania back in September being the only aberration in that time.
Off the back of five straight group-stage exits at the African Nations Championship, Uganda know that a winning start at this year's edition would provide the best platform to build upon.
Team News
Uganda's Moses Waiswa had to make do with a place on the bench last time out, but the midfielder is expected to be recalled to the starting XI for this one.
Najib Yiga and Siraje Ssentamu are unavailable for selection after they picked up ankle and muscle injuries respectively in the series of warm-up fixtures leading up to Saturday's clash.
Amid their off-pitch financial difficulties, Congo DR still named the full complement of a 28-man squad, including seasoned veterans like Issama Mpeko and Adam Bossu.
Phillippe Kinzumbi has proven himself to be a lethal goal threat of late, and the 25-year-old, who netted in the CHAN qualifiers, will be looking to come up trumps once more.
Congo DR possible starting lineup:
Lomboto; Djos, Issaka, Iyembe, Mundele; Kapela, Nsita, Onoya; Soze, Kalaba, Miche
Uganda possible starting lineup:
Alionzi; Mandela, Begisa, Ndahiro, Mubiru; Youngman, Watambala, Waiswa; Karisa, Orit, Mutyaba
We say: Congo DR 1-0 Uganda
Judging by the recent editions of Saturday's encounter, a low-scoring affair is on the cards here with little goalmouth action at either end. That said, we can see Congo DR just about getting the job done come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
