Lions of Teranga look to roar past Elephants

Senegal will renew their rivalry with hosts Ivory Coast in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro on Monday.

Kick-off is at 10:00 pm CAT.

CURRENT FORM

The Lions of Teranga booked their spot in this round of the tournament as group C winners, having wrapped their group stage campaign with a 2-0 victory over Guinea on 23 January.

Senegal are enjoying a seven-match unbeaten run across all competitions with the reigning Afcon champions having recorded six victories and one draw.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast suffered a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their final group A match on 22 January, but they advanced to the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams.

The heavy defeat to Equatorial Guinea extended the Elephants' winless run to two matches across all competitions, having registered two consecutive defeats.

TEAM NEWS

Senegal could be without Pape Gueye who left the field of play due to injury in the game against Guinea. His teammate Abdallah Sima has been ruled out for the remainder of the Afcon finals due to a thigh injury.

Ivory Coast, on the other hand, are likely to be without their star striker Sebastien Haller, who missed all three group matches due to an ankle injury. There are no suspensions for either team.

WHAT WAS SAID?

Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse

“I am very satisfied with our players. We had good preparations since camping in December," Cisse said.

"We were in a tough group of death with strong opposition and won all three, which makes me really satisfied. When we lost the final in 2019 to Algeria we learned a lot from that defeat, which allowed us to win the title two years later in Cameroon.

"So far, we have scored eight goals in three matches. We will rest a little, and we have five days to play the round of 16.”

Ivory Coast caretaker coach Emerse Faé

"I think we have less weight on our shoulders because the wait really hurt us and now we are free," Faé said.

"But we have to quickly focus on the match against Senegal because it's a good team and because we owe the people an act of revenge.

"We owe the people forgiveness and an apology and we have to show them that what happened against Equatorial Guinea was an accident and that we really want to give the country a lot of joy and give them what they deserve.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sadio Mane: The 2021 Afcon Player of the Tournament remains a key player for the Lions of Teranga, having grabbed two assists and one goal during the team's group-stage campaign.

Seko Fofana: The influential midfielder, who was named Man of the Match after Ivory Coast's win over Guinea-Bissau, will carry the Elephants' hopes of reaching the quarterfinals.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Senegal and Ivory Coast have met 25 times across all competitions. The Elephants have registered 14 wins compared to the Lions of Teranga's eight victories while three games ended in draws.

The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-0 win in favour of Senegal in the 2022 Chan match played in Angola in January 2023.