Burkina Faso vs. Tunisia Prediction: Back Tunisia to reach their second consecutive AFCON semi-final

We’re really getting into the African Cup of Nations now. There’s some mouth-watering games to come in this year’s AFCON, and today we’ll be focusing on the matchup between Burkina Faso and Tunisia.

Tunisia come into this game after knocking out Nigeria in the previous round, a surprising result in some ways as The Eagles of Carthage had a number of Covid absentees in their squad, including the head coach! After losing two of their three group games, many (including myself) would have expected to see them leaving the tournament in the last game, but they now come into Saturday’s game as slight favourites. Burkina Faso survived a dramatic penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw with Gabon, winning 7-6 from 12 yards out to progress to the quarters. As ever, we’ll have two tips for the game this weekend.

Up first for the game, I’ve gone with Tunisia to win. The Eagles of Carthage are slight favourites for this tie, with Burkina Faso currently priced at 23/10. Tunisia have won three of their four games at the tournament so far, with their only blemish coming in a loss to Gambia. They also won seven of their 10 games coming into the tournament, so should feel relatively confident. Their victory over Nigeria in the last round, despite so many absentees, showed that they are able to be resilient, and with Burkina only scraping through on penalties, I expect Tunisia to reach their second consecutive AFCON semi-final.

Secondly, I’ve put together a 14/1 bet builder for our long-shot. Wahbi Khazri featured minimally in Tunisia’s last game after testing positive for Covid, but it’s expected that their star man will be back in from the start here. Khazri scored in Tunisia’s opening two games at the tournament, and will be their main attacking threat going forward. He’s 12/5 to score any time, which could be one to keep an eye on as a single. Hamza Mathlouthi should come back into the side at right-back, after missing the game against Nigeria through suspension. Mathlouthi picked up two bookings in his three group games, showing his feisty side, and is 7/2 for a booking outright. Adding him in with Khazri to score takes us to just over 14/1 for the double. Make sure to check the lineups before placing, good luck if you’re backing any of these selections, and please gamble responsibly.