Ivory Coast vs Mali Prediction: Both nations won’t find it difficult to score

Ivory Coast will play host to Mali in a friendly match at Stade Robert Champroux on Tuesday. Ivory Coast will also be hosting the Africa Cup of Nations the following year. The Elephants had won three of their past four matches, while the Eagles were one of the strongest teams in AFCON qualifying.

Even though they will be hosting the event the following year, Ivory Coast nevertheless competed in the qualifying rounds for AFCON and ended up tied for second place in Group H with Zambia. The Elephants were undefeated on their home field, taking all three games in front of their supporters. However, the Elephants' lackluster performance on the road led to them finishing in second place. They were confident in their home matches, as evidenced by the fact that they scored seven goals while only allowing two goals to be scored against them. Jean-Louis Gasset and his crew are aware that the difficult work needs to begin right now if they want to win the championship on their own turf several months before the finals. The 2015 African champions have solid form heading into Tuesday's matchup, as evidenced by the fact that they have won three of their last four qualifying matches.

Mali will be the visiting side here, and it is not anticipated that the Eagles will be easy prey for them in this friendly. Before the start of AFCON qualifying, Eric Chelle took over as head coach from Mohamed Magassouba. Under Chelle's leadership, the West African nation won five of their first six matches, which tied them for the most victories in the tournament with Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria. Chelle has created a team that is dangerous in the attacking third while remarkably maintaining a strong defensive unit. They have only given up two goals in six games and have scored 15 goals overall. On Tuesday, they will be put through the ringer in both areas of their game, and it remains to be seen whether or not they can pull off the upset against the team that has won their continent twice. Mali is the underdog going into this week's friendly against Ivory Coast because they have only won four of their previous 33 games against Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:

Fofana; Kossounou, Diomade, Ndicka; Diakite, Sangare, Seri, Cornet; Krasso, Adingra; Haller

Mali possible starting lineup:

Diara; Traore, Sacko, Niakate, Dante; Dieng, Bissouma, Samessekou; Dorgeles, Kone, Doumbia

Jean-Louis Gasset, the head coach of Cote d'Ivoire, felt humiliated after his team's loss to Zambia in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers in June of last year. Nevertheless, the consolation came in the form of a 1-0 win over Lesotho. On Tuesday, he will attempt to improve upon that previous accomplishment. The previous two games for Mali ended in victories, with the team tallying six goals while allowing none to their opponents. A surprising victory in Abidjan would do wonders for the team's confidence, but achieving that result would not be easy. Cote d'Ivoire have a formidable individualism that is capable of influencing the outcome of the match, and we anticipate that the Elephants will secure a victory by a razor-thin margin.