
Mali vs Ivory Coast Prediction and Betting Tips: Expect a low-scoring affair in quarter-final duel

Mali and tournament hosts Ivory Coast meet at Stade de la Paix on Saturday evening in the AFCON quarter-finals, live on Sky Sports Football at 5pm GMT.
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The Eagles navigated past Burkina Faso in the round of 16 to set up this tie with the AFCON hosts. Mali remain unbeaten at the tournament so far, recording two wins and two draws, which has helped them jump up to third favourites in the betting at around 11/2.
Against the odds, caretaker coach Emerse Fae lifted his troops to wipe out the current holders Senegal last time out, with Franck Kessie providing the equaliser from 12 yards in the closing stages of the regular 90 minutes and then netting the deciding penalty in a 5-4 victory following an additional half-hour of extra time.
In many ways, this current competition is proving one of AFCON's most exciting, not least summarised by the fact that no 2021 quarter-finalist is present in the 2023 final eight lineup. Pair that with a number of shocks, the potential for a new winner and the domination of direct football, and Mali vs Ivory Coast should be a must-watch for football fans.
Mali vs Ivory Coast Tips
AFCON 2023 began as a real goal fest, boasting one of the best goals-per-game rates of any iteration. The 105 total goals scored makes it the sixth-highest scoring in history and the highest in 13 years. There has since, however, been a real drop off, with the knockout stages seeing more caution creeping in.
After only one goal was scored in the final four group matches and the first eight knockout ties produced 16 goals - with four of those coming from the penalty spot - that leaves an average of just 1.5 non-penalty goals per game; down from 2.2 during the groups.
This pair, Mali and Ivory Coast, have both averaged over 50% possession - two of only three sides to achieve this figure at the tournament - meaning we could see them largely neutralise one another in a high turnover contest.
This year's edition has seen more penalties converted (13) than any other AFCON tournament. The previous record had stood at 11 in 2008 and 2021, and there are still eight more fixtures to be contested between now and 11th February's final.
17 have been awarded so far which is the second-highest total in AFCON history after 2021's tally of 21. VAR is clearly having a huge impact in recent renewals based on this increase, and with very little separating these two across some important stats such as possession and pass success rate we could see this one decided by a moment from the penalty spot.
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