Tuesday's Africa Cup of Nations predictions and free football tips: Dangerous Doumbia could lead Mali to opening victory

Best bets

Youssef Msakni to score in Tunisia v Namibia
Sky Sports Football, 5pm Tuesday
1pt 3-1 bet365

Mali to beat South Africa
Sky Sports Football, 8pm Tuesday
2pts 21-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Kamory Doumbia to score in Mali v South Africa
Sky Sports Football, 8pm Tuesday
1pt 18-5 Hills

Tuesday's Africa Cup of Nations football predictions

The day’s action at the Africa Cup of Nations begins with a Group D clash and Burkina Faso look likely to make a positive start against Mauritania as they attempt to challenge Algeria for top spot in the section. 

An equally one-sided match should be expected in the second game of the day too, when Tunisia, who beat France and drew with Denmark at the Qatar World Cup, take on minnows Namibia in Group E. 

The Carthage Eagles should dominate that match and having scored two against Cape Verde – who beat Ghana 2-1 on Sunday – they could net a few against their weak opponents. 

Key to their attack will be captain Youssef Msakni, who has scored six times for Qatari side Al Arabi in just ten games this term and arrives in Ivory Coast in fine form. The experienced star will be making his 100th Tunisia appearance in this fixture and, after scoring three goals in his last four international matches, he looks set to mark the occasion accordingly. 

Mali have gone seven games without defeat and look ready to open with a win over South Africa in Group E. 

The Eagles  have won six matches in that impressive sequence, and the aggregate score from that run reads 20-5, suggesting they should be far too strong for South Africa who were recently held to 0-0 draws by Lesotho and Eswatini – teams ranked 148th and 149th in the world. 

Young forward Kamory Doumbia has been making a name for himself in France this season and he could be key to Mali’s fortunes at Afcon. 

Doumbia signed off from club action by scoring all four goals in Brest’s 4-0 rout of Lorient before Christmas and he has been equally electric for his nation, scoring in his last three appearances for Mali. 

The 20-year-old is in fantastic form, and should hit the net once more as the Eagles aim to make a strong start to their Afcon campaign.

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