Panoramic
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
NIGER  DaoudaMazadou, Amadou, Chicoto, Soumaila Djibo, Laouali, Lancina, Garba Moussa, Alhassane | TUNISIA  MathlouthiIfa, Haggui, Abdennour, Jemal Traoui, Korbi Msakni, Chikhaoui, Dhaouadi Chermiti |
Coach Harouna Doula Gabde will have to deal with the loss of Tidjani Amadou Moutari, whose substitute appearance against the Panthers lasted only six minutes before he was stretchered off with a broken leg.
While Moutari has already left Gabon to undergo an operation in France, another player in the squad, midfielder Moussa Maazou, is suffering from an ankle sprain but will probably pass fit in time for the game.
Unlike their opponents, the Carthage Eagles are coming into this encounter in high spirits after obtaining a valuable opening win against north African rivals Morocco. The Tunisians rode their luck at times but their counter-attacking strategy paid dividends.
Against Niger, they will have to employ a more expansive attacking approach as they will be the technically superior side and will much prefer to have their final Group C match against the co-hosts be a formality rather than a must win game.
Though many expected that Sami Trabelsi would switch out his right and left-backs, Ammar Jemal and Bilel Ifa, for the more attacking options of Khalil Chammam and Anis Boussaidi, the latest from Libreville is that the coach looks more likely to stick with the same back four he used against Morocco, while giving them a bit more license to roam forward.
Meanwhile, an injury to Saber Khlifa may see Amine Chermiti start at centre-forward, and goalscorer Youssef Msakni is expected to take Sami Allagui’s spot on
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Tunisia and Niger have only faced each other once before, with the Carthage Eagles defeating the Mena 4-2 at home after the first half ended 3-0.
- Niger’s Moussa Maazou spoke to Goal.com’s Kingsley Kobo in Libreville after the loss to Gabon and was very pessimistic about his team’s chance of progression.
- Tunisia’s Oussama Darragi was selected by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) as the best player plying his trade on the continent but didn’t get to partake in the Carthage Eagles’ first game.
- Scouts from both Auxerre and Nice will be at the Angondje stadium on Friday to pay special attention to Tunisian defender Bilel Ifa’s performance. The Club Africain player excels as a centre-back but is being used on the right side of defence because the presence of Karim Haggui and Aymen Abdennour in the starting lineup means that there is no space for him in the middle.
Prediction
Tunisia will likely win but it might be harder than some might expect against a Niger side determined to leave a good impression after falling flat in their first match.
Editor's Prediction
Niger 1-2 Tunisia 
