Afcon 2021: Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone Preview - Kick-off time, TV channel, squad news

Ivory Coast will be out to make it two wins out of two when they clash against Sierra Leone in an Africa Cup of Nations match at Japoma Stadium in Douala on Sunday.

After edging Equatorial Guinea in their tournament opener on Wednesday, Ivory Coast would be keen to follow up with another victory as they bid to reach the next round of the tournament.

But they face stubborn Leone Stars, who restricted defending champions Algeria to a 0-0 draw last Tuesday.

If Sierra Leone replicate that valiant show they displayed against Algeria, Ivory Coast will have a tough afternoon.

But the Elephants coach Patrice Beaumelle could have learnt how to subdue the Leone Stars after he watched them against the Desert Foxes.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

Squads & Team News

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The Elephants welcome back captain Serge Aurier, who missed the Equatorial Guinea match due to suspension.

Aurier had accumulated some yellow cards during the qualification campaign.

Also returning is centre-back Wilfried Konan, who was also absent in the last match due to the same reason.

It remains to be seen if Beaumelle will throw Konan into the starting line-up to replace Simon Deli.

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Sierra Leone’s encouraging start to the tournament could be undone after two players returned positive Covid-19 tests ahead of this match.

Queens Park Rangers defender Osman Kakay contracted the virus after he was instrumental at right-back against Algeria as he played for the entire match.

Another defender David Sesay has also entered isolation but might not be missed much as he did not take part in the game against the Desert Foxes.

Match Preview

Ivory Coast are regarded as one of the tournament favourites and will be facing Sierra Leone, who are only making their third appearance at the tournament.

Sunday’s game will be a rematch of the 1994 Afcon finals, when the two sides met in a group stage clash.

Ivory Coast emerged as 4-0 winners then and they have always dominated other games against the Leone Stars.

Sierra Leone have never beaten the Elephants in the two teams’ six previous meetings.

Coach John Keister and his Leone Stars go into this game on the background of having not recorded victory in their last three games.

They last won in June 2021 when they edged Benin 1-0 in their final Afcon qualification match.

Since they were not involved in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Sierra Leone then drew 0-0 against and lost 2-0 to Comoros in international friendly matches, before the Algeria result.

Ivory Coast on the other hand have recorded four wins and a defeat in their last five outings.