Round three of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will play out this week, and in Group L, we will see Senegal facing off against Malawi in the first match of a double-header in Diamniadio on Friday night.
The hosts are in second place in the group standings, unbeaten with four points after the first two matches, while the visitors are bottom of the table and still searching for their first point of the competition.
Match preview
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African giants Senegal have made a positive start to their 2025 AFCON qualification campaign, currently tied on four points with group leaders Burkina Faso, who they played out a 1-1 draw against in the opening round.
While the Lions of Teranga would likely have been fairly disappointed with that result having led the match until stoppage time, they made no mistake in round two, seeing out their one-goal lead against a plucky Burundi on the road.
With those results, the 2021-22 winners of this competition have now gone six matches without defeat, including four wins and two draws, dating back to their AFCON exit against the Ivory Coast earlier this year.
However, the side has experienced the end of an era in the last week, with the Senegal Football Federation announcing the end of Aliou Cisse's tenure with the team after nine years, citing that the former national team captain failed to fulfil their targets, which included winning the 2023 AFCON and reaching the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup.
As a result, the Lions of Teranga will head into this month's qualifiers without a permanent coach at the helm, though Cisse's former assistant Pape Thiaw will take on the responsibilities on an interim basis until the next manager is confirmed.
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Meanwhile, Malawi are seeking to reach the main draw of the AFCON for only the fourth time in their history, but based on their recent record, it seems unlikely they will be able to manage to make the cut unless they are able to win the remainder of their group-stage matches.
The Flames suffered back-to-back defeats in the first two rounds of this competition, losing their opening match 3-2 to Burundi before proving no match for Burkina Faso, who ran out 3-1 winners on matchday two.
Patrick Mabedi's side are now on a three-match losing streak and have lost six of their last seven, with a victory over Sao Tome e Principe being the only positive outcome they have managed in the last 12 months.
Owing to their poor form, Malawi have also seen their FIFA ranking plummet by a massive seven places in the last month, now putting them 133rd in the world and 39th among 53 CAF representatives.
These two sides have only met three times in the past and Malawi have never bested Senegal in that time, losing twice and drawing their most recent encounter goalless back in January 2022.
Team News
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After much uncertainty, the Senegalese Football Federation finally announced last week that Galatasaray defender Ismail Jakobs has been cleared to join the team for the double-header against Malawi.
Jakobs will add to an already star-studded lineup, which includes the likes of Edouard Mendy, Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson, Kalidou Koulibaly and Moussa Niakhate, all of whom are expected to feature over the next week.
Malawi, unlike most other nations participating in these qualifiers, has announced a squad of just 20 players, the majority of whom also featured in the first two rounds against Burkina Faso and Burundi.
One player who has received a call-up, though, is Nyasa Big Bullets midfielder Lloyd Aaron, who is set to return to the national team lineup for the first time since making a cameo appearance for the Flames against Mozambique in June 2023.
Senegal possible starting lineup:
E Mendy; F Mendy, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Jakobs; Sarr, Camara, Ndiaye, Gueye, Mane; Jackson
Malawi possible starting lineup:
Chikooka; Sanudi, Mwase, Chembezi, Chirwa; Chester, Idana, Aaron, Nkhoma; Kaonga, Mphasi
We say: Senegal 2-1 Malawi
While Malawi put up decent performances, scoring in both previous matches in this competition, they now face a major step up in class of opponents, and we feel they will be unable to contain the star-studded Lions of Teranga in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
