Taking part in the COSAFA Cup for the first time ever, Senegal prepare to battle against Namibia in Port Elizabeth on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Namibia are on a mission to end their six-year wait after going all the way in the 2015 edition of the tournament.
Match preview
Senegal were chosen by COSAFA on June 15 to be the guest country for this year's regional competition in South Africa.
The Lions of Teranga are the current champions of the WAFU Cup of Nations, where they defeated Ghana in the final two years ago.
Aliou Cisse's men have been in great form of late, unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions, while also securing a place at next year's Africa Cup of Nations without suffering a single defeat.
In the meantime, their goal is to become the first guest nation to go all the way in the history of the COSAFA Cup, and a good start will help set the tone.
Standing in their way is a Namibia side who they have beaten by two goals to nothing in each of the sides' last two meetings.
Namibia come into the game on a high having won each of their last two matches, the most recent of which was a 2-1 AFCON qualifier victory over Guinea on March 28.
However, they were unable to secure a place at the tournament as they only managed to finish third in Group A behind Mali and Guinea.
The Brave Warriors have little time to dwell on that disappointment and have a chance to put to it behind them with a good showing at the COSAFA Cup.
Bobby Samaria's men failed to win any of their last two opening matches in this competition and will want to fly out of the blocks this time around.
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Team News
Peter Shalulile was omitted from Namibia's squad due to fears of him aggravating a minor ankle injury which he sustained while in action for Mamelodi Sundowns.
Deon Hotto, who scored both goals for his side in their 2015 COSAFA final triumph, has also been given the tournament off after a physically demanding campaign with the Orlando Pirates.
In the absence of those two key players, the likes of Absalom Limbondi and Joslin Kamatuka will be tasked with providing a cutting edge.
Senegal will be without the services of several regular first-team players who have been on holiday since the European season ended.
Sadio Mane and Idrissa Gueye headline the list of notable absentees for the number one ranked team in Africa who are going in search of more success.
While he does not have the luxury of a full squad at his disposal currently, Aliou Cisse has named a more-than-capable squad for the competition.
Senegal possible starting lineup:
Ndiaye; Cisse, Dionkou, Gassama, Seck; Lopy; Thiam, Toure; Dia, Faye, Keita
Namibia possible starting lineup:
Kazapua; Haraeb, Heita, Martin, Hambira; Fredericks, Papama, Tijueza; Limbondi, Kamatuka, Theophilus
We say: Senegal 2-1 Namibia
Both teams will want to begin on a positive note, which should make for an exciting affair. We are tipping Senegal to get the better of their opponents, albeit by a narrow margin.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Senegal win with a probability of 83.21%. A draw had a probability of 13% and a win for Namibia had a probability of 3.76%.
The most likely scoreline for a Senegal win was 2-0 with a probability of 18.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (15.71%) and 3-0 (14.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 0-0 (6.59%), while for a Namibia win it was 0-1 (2.22%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 0.9% likelihood.
