African heavyweights Ivory Coast and Morocco will battle it out for supremacy in an international friendly encounter at Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny on Saturday.

Both sides have suffered just one defeat apiece since the turn of the year, and this weekend's encounter promises to be a keenly-contested affair.

Match preview

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Ivory Coast saw their clash against the Eagles of Mali at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on September 12 end abruptly due to weather problems.

Jean-Louis Gasset's men were in the ascendancy for large spells of the game but failed to find the opening goal of the contest before its cancellation at half time.

The Indomitable Lions, however, did emerge victorious in their most recent competitive outing as they defeated Lesotho 1-0 in their final AFCON qualifier.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are unbeaten in the last four editions of this fixture without conceding a single goal.

Ahead of another high-profile game against South Africa three days later, Saturday's hosts now go in search of a morale-boosting win in front of their fans.

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Morocco saw off the threat of Burkina Faso thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory when the teams faced off at Estadio Bollaert-Delelis on September 12.

Walid Regragui's men got their noses in front 10 minutes shy of the half time whistle through Azzedine Ounahi, and that was enough to get the job done.

This came off the back of a 2-1 defeat for the Atlas Lions in their penultimate Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash against South Africa.

With their final AFCON qualifier against Liberia to come, Saturday's visitors will be aiming to secure consecutive wins for the first time since the 2022 World Cup.

Team News

Morocco's Ibrahim Salah will hope to make his debut in this weekend's affair having been called up to the senior squad for the first time ever.

Youssef En Nesyri netted in each of his last three outings at club level prior to the international break, making him one to keep an eye on.

Max Gradel is in line to record his 106th cap, which would see him surpass Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba and move up to third place out on his own in the appearances chart.

Yahia Fofana has started the last two matches in goal for the home side, but Badra Ali Sangare could make a long-awaited return to the starting XI here.

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:
Sangare; Ndicka, Diomande, Kossounou; Bamba, Sangare, Seri, Aurier; Adingra, Zaha, Haller

Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bono; Mazraoui, Saiss, Aguerd, Hakimi; Amallah, Ounahi, Harit; En-Nesyri, Adli, Ezzalzouli

We say: Ivory Coast 2-2 Morocco

Given the firepower on display, we are anticipating a highly-entertaining affair with goals at both ends. That said, we can also see the teams cancelling each out to settle for a share of the spoils in the end.


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