Esperance ST vs ASEC Mimosas Prediction: The hosts can’t afford to drop points on their ground

On Saturday, Esperance ST will face off against ASEC Mimosas at the Stade Hamadi Arabi Stadium. The hosts will be careful against the visitors, who have lost just once since the preliminary stages. Esperance ST can’t afford to drop points on their ground and must be meticulous against the darts of the Ivorian heavyweight. 

Esperance ST (Tunisia)

Last six games: DWWWDL

The Blood and Gold haven’t really had a decent start, but they keep improving each game. Since their defeat against Al Hilal, Esperance ST have gone to share the spoils twice in two matches. Fortunately, they finished in the second spot on the log, with a point behind Petro Luanda at the top of the standings. 

Al Taraji are the most successful team in the Tunisia Professional League, with thirty-one (31) league titles. They have won the Tunisia Cup fifteen times while securing the Tunisia Super Cup six times. They have triumphed in the CAF Champions League four times and are the second most successful side in the competition's history. 

Esperance ST are unbeaten in their last twelve games, heading here with five consecutive victories without conceding a goal. 

ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast)

Last six games: DWWWDL

The one-time CAF Champions League winner have been pretty solid in this competition so far. ASEC Mimosas won three, drew twice, and lost once. They would have gone the whole group phase without a defeat after failing to convert their penalty in the final game against Wydad Casablanca in Morocco. 

Things haven’t been going well with the Yellow and Black recently after selling their best player, Sankara Karamoko, to Wolsburger in Austria. 

ASEC Mimosas have won twice in their previous nine games in all competitions, and it’ll be tough for them to advance to the next round against a pretty solid Esperance ST side. 

Expert Betting Tips

Esperance ST are the third-best team in the continent according to Footballdatabase 2024. For the seventh consecutive season, Al Taraji will participate in the quarterfinals of this competition. The last time they were here, they reached the semifinals but were unfortunately eliminated by Al Ahly. Esperance ST have been solid defensively in both the domestic league and this CAF Champions League. They rarely concede and have one of the best game management systems in the continent. On the opposing end, ASEC Mimosas were decent in the group stage after losing just once in six matches. However, they have been underperforming lately and head here with a defeat to San Pedro, a few games after losing to 14th-placed Asi D’abengourou. 

In this competition, home advantage can’t be underestimated, as it’s always tough to win away from home. Tunisia are well experienced in this CAF Champions League and have quality players who can hurt any side in the continent. It’s not going to be a walkover despite their opponent's recent run, but we expect the hosts to win and score more than a goal here for 1.85.

The visitors have sold their best attacker, and we are confident they’ll struggle in front of goal; bet on BTTS no for 1.59.

This game will end in a (3-0) victory for the hosts for 8.70.

Good luck!