Comoros will go head to head with Gabon in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group C match at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé on Monday.
Kick-off is at 9:00 pm CAT.
The Coelacanths are hoping to mark their debut appearance in Africa's most prestigious football tournament with a win having reached this competition following a successful qualifying campaign.
El Fardou Ben Nabouhane and Youssouf M'Changama are the key players for Comoros as they played a vital role in helping the team qualify for the competition which is being staged in Cameroon.
Amir Abdou, the Comoros head coach, has made it known that they did not qualify for the 2021 Afcon finals by mistake and he promised that his charges will fight on the pitch.
“We did not qualify by chance. We, therefore, do not think that we will let the opportunity to go as far as possible slip away," Abdou told Africa Foot United.
"We will fight with our weapons with our various adversaries, as tough as they are. Football is on the pitch. We will focus on the first match against Gabon, and then there is all the athletic preparation."
Meanwhile, Gabon are coming into this match as the favourites due to their experience in this tournament as they will be making their eighth appearance in the competition.
However, the Panthers are expected to be without their most influential players in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina after the duo tested positive for Covid-19 when they face Comoros.
Patrice Neveu, the Gabon head coach, will be hoping that André Biyogo Poko and Denis Bouanga step up in the absence of the abovementioned players as they look to avoid an upset against Coelacanths.
The Panthers were thrashed 3-0 by Burkina Faso in a friendly game on January 3, but Neveu remains hopeful that his side will perform well in their group.
"It was a preparation game and we saw the shortcomings of our team. We have to be mentally strong," Neveu told CAF Online.
"I am going to make choices very quickly to put the team back on track. The objective was to make a review of the quality of the squad and see the state of our players.
"I know that with the team that we have, there is the potential to go to the next round, that will be the main objective. Our group is balanced. I don't want to make predictions, but I know what we have the team for.”
The last time Comoros faced Gabon was in November 2016.
The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in a friendly match at the Stade Olympique d'El Menzah in Tunisia.
