Two heavyweights of African football face off at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Monday as South Africa host Ghana in a huge World Cup 2022 qualifying clash.
The hosts kicked off stage two of the qualifying process with a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe, while Ghana beat Ethiopia 1-0 to lead the way in Group G.
Match preview
South Africa and Ghana have competed in six of the last 12 World Cups between them, but only one side can advance to stage three of qualifying.
Ghana lead the way after the opening set of fixtures thanks to Mubarak Wakaso's strike in Friday's victory over Ethiopia.
The Black Stars have now lost just one of their last five matches overall, a run that includes a 1-1 draw with South Africa in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying six months ago.
Charles Akonnor's men have also kept back-to-back clean sheets, though breaching the South Africa backline will be a huge challenge on Monday.
The hosts have kept seven shutouts on the spin, the most recent of those coming against Zimbabwe on Friday.
However, that stalemate in Harare will be considered a setback of sorts for Bafana Bafana in what was head coach Hugo Broos's first official game in charge.
Percy Tau had a chance to snatch a late win for South Africa, though in the end a point apiece was considered a fair outcome.
That could turn out to be a point gained rather than two dropped, though if that is to be the case then Broos's charges need to pick up a victory against Ghana on Monday.
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Team News
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Akonnor put faith in Wakaso against Ethiopia and was rewarded with the China-based midfielder's match-winning strike.
Mohammed Iddrisu Baba was selected alongside Wakaso last time out in the absence of Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus, a combination Ghana are likely to stick with.
Jeffrey Schlupp is likely to make way from the starting lineup, though, after pulling up with a hamstring problem on Friday. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh could come in for his full debut.
As for South Africa, after opting for a cautious approach against Zimbabwe, Broos may be tempted to change things slightly for the visit of Ghana.
Ineffective attacking midfielder Gift Links was taken off at half time and replaced by Bongokuhle Hlongwane, who joined Evidence Makgopa up top.
Central midfielder Sipho Mbule is another option should Broos wish to freshen up his side.
South Africa possible starting lineup:
Williams; Morena, Xulu, De Reuck, Mobbie; Mvala, Mokoena, Singh; Hlongwane, Makgopa, Links
Ghana possible starting lineup:
Ofori; Yiadom, Amartey, Djiku, Rahman; Iddrisu, Wakaso, Kyereh, Sulemana; A. Ayew, J. Ayew
We say: South Africa 1-0 Ghana
Ghana are in the driving seat thanks to their opening-game victory and another win in Johannesburg would leave South Africa's qualification hopes in serious jeopardy.
However, the hosts are unbeaten in eight games and have kept a clean sheet in the last seven of those, so we are backing them to keep Group G wide open with a victory here.
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 South Africa win with a probability of 46.26%. A draw had a probability of 29.5% and a win for Ghana had a probability of 24.26%.
The most likely scoreline for a South Africa win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.89%) and 2-1 (8%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.93%), while for a Ghana win it was 0-1 (10.45%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 16% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for South Africa in this match.
