- Date: Thursday, 18 January
- Location: Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe
- Time: 8pm (EA)
Hosts Ivory Coast lock horns with fellow giants Nigeria in their second game of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations aiming to make qualification to the next round.
The Ivorians confidently saw off Guinea Bissau in their opening encounter while Nigeria could only afford a stalemate against minnows Equatorial Guinea.
With the backing of the home crowd, the Elephants are slightly favourites in this gigantic clash but take nothing away from the Super Eagles to silence them at home.
The three-time AFCON winners know anything less than a victory will leave them at risk of dropping out at the group stages of the tournament for the first time since 1982.
Interesting facts, figures and stats ahead of the highly anticipated clash of the titans.
- This will be the seventh meeting between the two teams at the Africa Cup of Nations. The last six ending in 2 wins for either and as many draws.
- However, the last meeting at the Africa Cup of Nations was in 2013 which the Super Eagles won 2-1 courtesy of goals by Emenike and Mba enroute to winning their third title.
- Overall, the H2H record between these two makes it hard to split, with Nigeria just about being edged out (W8, D10, L9), and with none of the last six meetings in an AFCON context being settled by greater than a single-goal margin.
- Ivory Coast are unbeaten in the last ten matches winning the last four on the bounce with a margin of more than a goal and kept a clean sheet in all but one.
- Just one of Nigeria’s last six AFCON tournament games produced over 2.5 total goals.
