Ivory Coast lost all hope after losing to Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria in the group stage of the competition, even firing old boss Jean-Louis Gasset days before their tie with Senegal.
Nobody would’ve given them a chance against the champions, especially considering the form that the Lions of Teranga were in.
Mali vs Ivory Coast Betting Tips
- Double chance - Ivory Coast/ Draw @ 1.30 with Betway
- Under 2.5 goals @ 1.43 with Betway
- Winning method - Ivory Coast on penalties @ 11.00 with Betway
All odds are courtesy of Betway, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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However, the Elephants found a way to dump the defending Africa Cup of Nations holders out of this year’s competition.
The Eagles await the host nation in Saturday evening’s fixture in Bouaké, hoping to disappoint the locals again.
Mali have had a steady run at this year’s competition having yet to taste defeat, an accomplishment they’d want to keep going for three more games.
They haven’t enjoyed much success against the Ivorians but Éric Chelle’s troops are in better form and must capitalise on that in front of a partisan home crowd.
A confidence boost
Fans of the host nation will be concerned that Mali have been on an incredible run of form recently.
The Eagles haven’t lost a match in their last 10 internationals, winning 60% of those (D4).
Even though Ivory Coast lost two out of their last three games, playing in front of a more supportive home crowd might just give them the confidence boost they need.
These nations last met at the 2019 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in the round of 16 stage, where the Elephants trampled the Eagles 1-0 to progress in the competition.
In their 11 meetings with each other, Ivory Coast have won seven with Mali registering just one victory (D3).
- Mali vs Ivory Coast Betting Tip 1: Double chance - Ivory Coast/ Draw @ 1.30 with Betway
Low goal averages
Since they kicked off their campaign against South Africa, Mali’s round of 16 encounter against Burkina Faso was their only one with more than two goals in the game.
Chelle’s troops scored five goals in four matches, averaging 1.25 goals per game.
The hosts and two-time winners have conceded double what they’ve scored in the tournament (GF3, GA6), not the type of attacking returns the home fans were expecting.
The last three fixtures between Ivory Coast and Mali have had less than two goals in them, indicating Saturday’s fixture might be a tight affair.
- Mali vs Ivory Coast Betting Tip 2: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.43 with Betway
An outside chance of penalties
Seeing as Mali drew two of their group games, it’s likely they will struggle to break free from the home team.
The Elephants rescued a draw the last time out and saw the tie through to penalties where they snatched victory and their ticket to the quarter-finals.
When these nations met in September last year at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, the match ended goalless prematurely due to bad weather.
The host nation faced the same fate in the 2019 edition of the competition where they lost to eventual champions Algeria in the quarter-final stage on penalties.
The same scenario could play out on Saturday with the Elephants seeing the job through on penalties.
- Mali vs Ivory Coast Betting Tip 3: Winning method - Ivory Coast on penalties @ 11.00 with Betway