And then there were two. Senegal and Algeria will go up against each other in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Friday evening and punters will be expecting an exciting contest.

Algeria are slight favourites at 22/25 to lift the AFCON 2019 trophy and that is a fair price after their 1-0 victory over Senegal in the group stages.

Let’s start with Algeria. Winners of the Africa Cup of Nations back in 1990, Algerian football went through a tough period following that triumph.

However, the African minnows seem to have regained their mojo. Algeria qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2014 but fell just short in 2018. Victory here could spur Algeria on ahead of the 2022 tournament…

Priced at 19/10 to win in 90 minutes, Algeria will be hoping for a repeat of their victory over Senegal earlier this summer.

Youcef Belaili’s goal was the difference between the two teams on that day and a close contest suits Algeria more than Senegal. Algeria’s game plan will probably involve frustrating Senegal as much as possible in the early exchanges.

Riyad Mahrez is the man who can make things happen from an Algeria perspective. Capable of producing a moment of magic to unlock any defence, the Manchester City man has been in fine form this summer.

With three goals at AFCON 2019, including an injury-time winner in the semi-finals, Mahrez is our player to watch ahead of Friday’s final.

The 17/5 available for Mahrez to score in 90 minutes should be snapped up. Senegal have been solid defensively at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations but Algeria broke them down last time and they can break them down again.

Watch this space, Mahrez could have a key role to play and punters will be keeping a close eye on the City winger.

Meanwhile, Senegal are one of the most consistent teams in African football.

Despite having never won the Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal have featured regularly at the World Cup and victory here will cement their status as a major player on the world stage. 9/5 for Senegal to win in 90 minutes is worth consideration…

We tipped Senegal to reach the final in our 2019 Africa Cup of Nations preview prior to the opening fixture and Aliou CIsse’s side haven’t disappointed.

With five wins from six matches this summer, Senegal have been in fantastic form – conceding just the one goal to Algeria in over 540 minutes of tournament football.

Odion Ighalo is leading the way as the AFCON 2019 top goal scorer but Sadio Mane is hot on his heels.

The Liverpool frontman has three goals to his name this summer and punters will fancy Mane to make a positive impact on Friday night. The 5/2 for Mane to score during 90 minutes is a price well worth taking.

Over 2.5 goals has landed in 14 of the 50 tournaments matches this summer but Algeria and Senegal are responsible for four of those high-scoring games.

With that in mind, it would be foolish to dismiss the 2/1 for three or more goals on Friday night. However, there has been a clear trend in favour of defensive football at AFCON 2019.

It won’t be easy but Senegal are primed to lift the Africa Cup of Nations trophy for the first time in their history. Defensively, Cisse’s men have been rock solid this summer and Senegal are blessed with quality in key areas of the pitch.

On paper, there isn’t much between the sides but Senegal can avenge their group stage defeat by beating Algeria in the AFCON 2019 final.

 

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.