The Stade de Rades plays host to the clash between Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea on Friday, when the sides lock horns seeking to lay down an early marker in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

With five previous appearances under their belt, the hosts will be unfazed by the task that lies ahead, while the same cannot be said about the visitors, who are looking to book a place at the global event for the first time.

Match preview

After a near-perfect AFCON qualifying campaign which saw them pick up 16 points from a possible 18, Tunisia have won two of the subsequent three friendlies, with the only exception being a 2-0 away defeat at Algeria.

Mondher Kebaier's men saw off the threat of Mali last time out courtesy of a narrow 1-0 victory which was their sixth in a row on home turf.

With the game level and in need of a moment of inspiration, Anis Ben Slimane scored within 10 minutes of coming on as a second-half substitute to decide the contest.

Next up for the Eagles of Carthage - who are currently the second-highest ranked African nation by FIFA - is the visit of an opposing side aiming to avoid a third consecutive defeat in this fixture.

Overall, Friday's hosts have won three of the previous five encounters involving the teams, losing just once in that time, which came in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Equatorial Guinea saw their three-game winning run come to an end following a 2-1 defeat versus Tunisia on March 28 in their final AFCON qualifier.

Juan Micha saw his men go behind to Seifeddine Jaziri's fourth-minute opener, before a Carlos Akapo own goal seven minutes into the second half doubled the deficit which was eventually halved two minutes from time by Firas Chaouat, who suffered the agony of inadvertently putting the ball past his own keeper.

Nonetheless, the Nzalang Nacional secured their place at next year's event in Cameroon after finishing as runners-up in Group J with nine points.

Friday's visitors failed to win any of their World Cup qualifiers seven years ago and will be keen to show how far they have come since then.

Team News

Eighteen-year-old Luis Nlavo has burst onto the scene with two goals in his first two games for the visitors, so it is no surprise to see him called up once again.

Felipe Ovono is one cap away from equalling Ivan Zarandona's record of 41, which the latter amassed in his 14 years of representing Equatorial Guinea.

Seifeddine Jaziri has scored in each of Tunisia's last two competitive outings, taking his tally of goals in his first four appearances up to three.

With 19 goals to his name, Saint-Etienne forward Wahbi Khazri is the leading scorer among the hosts' active players with only three players ahead of him in the all-time scoring chart.

Tunisia possible starting lineup:
Ben Mustapha; Maaloul, Bronn, Meriah, Talbi; Skhiri, Sassi, Ben Slimane; Msakni, Khazri, Jaziri

Equatorial Guinea possible starting lineup:
Owono; Anieboh, Ndong, Akapo, Obiang; Maye, Obiang, Machín, Ganet; Obama, Boacho

We say: Tunisia 2-0 Equatorial Guinea

Tunisia, playing in front of their fans, will be obliged to secure all three points in this one given the gulf in class between both squads.

We are backing them to come out on top in a relatively comfortable manner without having to break too much of a sweat at the sound of the final whistle in Tunis.

Written by
Adepoju Marvellous

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