Uganda vs Algeria Prediction: A crucial match for the home team

After suffering a loss in a friendly match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda will get back into competition for the African Cup of Nations on Sunday when they take on Algeria. The Greens enter the weekend as one of just three teams with a perfect record in the qualifying matches, and they will travel to Japoma Stadium with the goal of making it five victories out of five in Group F.

Uganda's qualifying campaign got off to a dreadful start, but on March 28, they defeated Tanzania 1-0 to reignite their hopes of competing in the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2019. In that match, it was Rogers Mato Kassim, a midfielder, who came off the bench to score the game-winning goal for the Cranes at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in the 91st minute and stole the show and made headlines. Prior to that, Uganda started their run in the qualifiers with a 1-1 draw with Niger and two losses to Algeria and Tanzania. The men coached by Milutin Sredojevic are presently in second place in Group F with four points out of a possible 12, tying them with Tanzania for second place and two points ahead of Niger, who are in last place.

Algeria were forced to undergo a really forgettable campaign in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after they were eliminated in shocking fashion in the group round. The team coached by Djamel Belmadi was eliminated from the competition after failing to win any of its three matches in Group E. They ended up with just one point out of a possible 12 and were dead last in the standings. However, the two-time AFCON champions have ensured an immediate return to the continental extravaganza by winning each of their four qualifying matches so far. Algeria's qualifying run for the 2022 World Cup in Ivory Coast began in June 2022, when they defeated Uganda 2-0 at the Stade du 5 Juillet. This was followed by a 2-0 victory against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, which came four days after Algeria defeated Uganda. This was followed by two consecutive victories over Niger in March's double-header, in which they picked up a 2-1 victory on their own turf and then beat the Mena 1-0 four days later thanks to an early goal from Baghdad Bounedjah. Algeria, along with Morocco and Senegal, are one of only three teams to have a perfect record in the qualifying matches, and they currently have a comfortable eight-point lead at the top of Group F.

Uganda possible starting lineup:

Salim, Kayondo, Lwaliwa, Gift, Semakula, Mato, Bobosi, Mugulusi, Miya, Okwi, Bayo

Algeria possible starting lineup:

M'Bolhi, Leris, Touba, Mandi, Bensebaini, Bentaleb, Boudaoui, Benrahma, Aouar, Mahrez, Slimani

While Uganda will aim to take the positives away from their performance against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they will be up against an Algerian team that is rolling in the qualifiers and hitting on all cylinders. We expect that the Greens will emerge victorious in this contest thanks to the huge advantage and increased level of experience that their team possesses.