Senegal vs Cape Verde Prediction: Mane to edge Senegalese past the Blue Sharks

The Africa Cup of Nations has reached the knockout stages and we will have previews and tips for every game moving forward. We have asked our man OddsTerrier to cover the afternoon tie on Tuesday, which features Senegal and Cape Verde. He has analysed the formbook and has two picks for you. 

AFCON 2021 has taken on a sombre tone with the tragic news coming out of Yaoundé overnight. At this stage it looks like the games will continue to go ahead and I have picked out a couple of selections that may be of interest. 

Senegal (63/100) are fairly handy favourites to win this one in the 90 minutes. The draw is around 12/5 and Cape Verde are a best priced 8/1 to pull off the shock. 

The Lions of Teranga are missing Crystal Palace midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté who is suspended for this clash, but other than that, both sides have full squads to pick from. 

I expect this to be a close cagey affair and for that reason I am going to start with a punt on a player prop. After a 9/2 winner on Musa Barrow yesterday that was solely based on stats, I am going to use the same logic today. The player I've picked out is Cape Verde centre midfielder Kenny Rocha Santos to have 1+ shots on target. Santos has had five shots so far in three appearances and two of those have hit the target. The 22-year-old plays his football in Belgium for Oostende, where he averages 0.7 shots per game this season. 

I like a small stake on Rocha Santos to hit the target here at 12/5.

Next up and we've moved into the Scorecast market. I am expecting a similar result and performance to Senegal's opening game, where they beat Zimbabwe by a solitary Sadio Mane penalty. Since then the Senegalese outfit have ground out two 0-0 bore-draws against Guinea and Malawi and they have looked anything but fluid in their attack. I foresee the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde making life very difficult for Senegal but Mane's quality should scrape them over the line - possibly from the penalty spot again. 

The Scorecast pays a little under 11/1 at Paddy Power.

If you decide to hop on these selections then good luck and please gamble responsibly.