Kenya V Tanzania
Thursday 27 June 2019 – 21:00 Kick-Off
International: Africa Cup of Nations, Group C
Pick: Both Teams NOT to Score – 4/5 Betfair
Preview
This isn’t the most glamorous of fixtures, between two sides that are seldom involved in exciting, goal-filled games. What it is, though, is a game of critical importance to both parties as defeat here would almost certainly bring a premature end to their Africa Cup of Nations adventure.
The precarious nature of their circumstances here boils down to opening day losses against the two strongest teams in the section. Tanzania were swept aside by a formidable Senegal while Kenya didn’t fare any better versus Algeria, with both succumbing to 2-0 scorelines.
It leaves them both well aware that only a win will do here, with a draw unlikely to help either side in the knowledge their final games are both against vastly superior opponents. Whether that affects how the teams approach this match we won’t really know until kick-off, but neither seem capable of playing on the front even if they wanted to. The stakes are also unbelievably high and this could potentially lead to a cautious and nervy meeting.
Some compelling statistics: Just one of Kenya’s last nine games has produced over 2.5 goals, with both teams scoring in only one of their last eleven. Meanwhile, Tanzania’s previous nine matches have produced seven under 2.5 goal games, with only one of their last nine featuring both teams to score.
Kenya Preview
A team ranked 105 in the world found life incredibly difficult against Algeria first time out, not even managing a shot on target against a defence that hadn’t kept many clean sheets prior to this tournament. As disappointing as that will have been for the coach to have witnessed, the sad truth is it won’t have come as a huge surprise to Sébastien Migné.
Kenya struggled for goals throughout qualifying, in a group that featured only four matches due to Sierre Leone’s disqualification. Of their four goals in total, three were scored in one game, at home to the weakest side in the group, Ethiopa. Their other goal came at home to Ghana, which was an own goal.
The Harambee Stars did at least score in both of their warm up games prior to the tournament, versus Madagascar (W1-0) and DR Congo (1-1). So they aren’t completely incapable.
Captain Victor Wanyama will likely be the driving force behind any success they may enjoy here, and the Tottenham player does in fact boast more goals than any midfielder in this team (7 from 55 caps). Although 25-year-old Michael Olunga is their main source of goals; the Kashiwa Reysol striker scoring 15 times for his country in 34 appearances.
Tanzania Preview
In some respects, Tanzania were lucky in their opening game. By that I mean lucky to avoid a heavier defeat as they were thoroughly outclassed by the strongest team on the continent, according to the latest FIFA Rankings. This match with Kenya is more their level though, and they will hope to be far more competitive on this occasion.
The Taifa Stars are still ranked below their opponents here, by some 26 places. Finding some inspiration from their form in qualifying or in the warm up matches isn’t easy either. They barely qualified from a weak group (W2 D2 L2), finishing two points ahead of Lesotho but five behind Uganda, with their tally of six goals among the lowest of all the teams to reach these finals.
Warm up games against Egypt (L1-0) and Zimbabwe (1-1) followed a similar pattern to qualifying, with positive results and goals both proving hard to come by for a side ranked 131 in the world.
Just two goals was all that were required for Mbwana Samatta to lay claim to being Tanzania’s leading marksman in the qualifiers. The 27-year-old has 17 goals in 49 caps for his country but did manage to net 20 times last season, albeit in the Belgian second tier.
Betting Tips
Both Teams NOT to Score – 4/5 Betfair
Betting Summary
This is an obvious pick. So it would be typical if these sides found some way to completely dismiss their consistent form for struggling in front of goal to suddenly produce a fun game. Both teams post some remarkable statistics when it comes to being involved in tight, low-scoring encounters and therefore we have to follow the trends.
