Togo vs Equatorial Guinea Prediction: Guinea will not lose this game

Stade de Kégué will host the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying encounter between Togo and Equatorial Guinea. Heading into this game, both teams settled for a 2-2 draw the last time they met. How will this encounter play out?

Togo lost to Liberia the previous time out and will look to get a better result here. In that game, Togo did a good job in the first half to settle for a draw, but in the 83rd minute, Mohammed Sangare’s strike denied them full-time points. In the meantime, Togo have struggled in recent matches, winning just one of their last games against Benin in the African Nations Championship qualifier. In the AFCON qualifier, this team has just two points, coming from their draws with Liberia and Equatorial Guinea. 

Equatorial Guinea held group leaders Algeria to a goalless draw in their last qualifying game, booking their spot in the main tournament. In that encounter, Equatorial Guinea had 46 per cent of the possession and attempted 13 shots while failing to net the two on target. In the meantime, Equatorial Guinea have not lost any of their last four matches, drawing two and winning two. With eight points in this qualifier, Equatorial Guinea are four points clear of their closest rival, Liberia, scoring five goals and conceding five. 

Equatorial Guinea have pulled one of the best performances in a qualifying tournament and will look to end it with a good result. While all hopes for a qualifier have ended for Togo, the home nation will hope they have at least a win in six matches, having picked two points from their first five matches. Yet, I believe this game will be decided by squad quality, and despite Togo being favored, I do not see them being strong defensively. While both teams could concede, points shared at full-time is a good option.