African Cup of Nations Betting: Well-matched final in prospect as Senegal take on Algeria

Senegal and Algeria will meet in the African Cup of Nations final in Cairo on Sunday.

888Sport believe there's little to choose between the finalists. The online firm make Aliou Cisse's side marginal 4/5 (1.80) favourites in their latest outright betting.

The Lions of Teranga needed an extra time own goal from Tunisia defender Dylan Bronn to secure their place in the showpiece clash.

Goals haven't flowed too freely for Senegal, who have scored just eight times in six games at the tournament thus far. Sadio Mane has netted three of those though, and the Liverpool forward is likely to play a big role if his side are to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.

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Algeria though, will be no easy opponents. The outsiders are Evens (2.0) to be crowned champions and have already beaten Senegal once en route to this stage.

A Youcef Belaili strike on matchday two gave the Desert Foxes a 1-0 win but they're underdogs to repeat that success in Cairo.

Riyad Mahrez's injury-time free-kick sealed a final berth for Djamel Belmadi's men at the expense of Nigeria on Sunday evening.

Before the tournament got underway Senegal were around 4/1 (5.0) chances to win the competition. There was some disagreement between firms as to who should be the market principles but the Lions of Teranga were one of the leading contenders.

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Some layers made hosts Egypt their ante post favourites, but South Africa ended the Pharaohs' chances of the seven-time winners in the last 16.

By contrast, Algeria were significantly bigger in the pre-tournament outright betting at around 12/1 (13.0). Despite a talented squad, being drawn alongside Senegal in Group C was seen as a negative.

That win over the eventual finalists will give Belmadi's side plenty of confidence going into the finale. Barring a penalty shootout victory over Ivory Coast in the quarter finals, Algeria have won their other five matches at the competition in normal time and conceded only twice.

The even money (2.0) quote about them being crowned the best team on the continent speaks volumes about how impressed the odds compilers have been with the Desert Foxes over the last few weeks.

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