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Algeria face the Gambia in a warm-up fixture ahead of the AFCON 2021 on Saturday in Doha. The game will be played at one of the training grounds and the location has not been disclosed.
Algeria are among the favorites for AFCON and head into the competition having won the recently concluded FIFA Arab Cup. They are the reigning champions of the competition and are drawn with Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone in Group E.
The Gambia will be making their maiden appearance in continental competition and face Mali, Mauritania and Tunisia in Group F.
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Algeria vs Gambia Head-to-Head
The two sides have crossed paths eight games across all competitions, with six of these meetings being AFCON qualifiers. Algeria have the upper hand against their western rivals and have four wins in this fixture.
The Gambia have two wins while two games have ended in a draw. The Scorpions' last win over Algeria came during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign way back in 2008.
The Desert Warriors' last win in this fixture was during the AFCON 2013 qualification campaign and the last meeting between the two sides have ended in a stalemate.
They met in the AFCON qualification in 2019 at Mustapha Tchaker Stadium. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Algeria form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-D-W
Gambia form guide (all competitions): L-W-L-L-W
Algeria vs Gambia Team News
Algeria
Of the 28 players named for the AFCON, Raïs M'Bolhi and Mustapha Zeghba are yet to join on account of commitment with their clubs. Abderrahmane Medjadel has received a call-up for the two friendly games.
Youcef Belaïli, Hocine Benayada and Amine Tougaï tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and are ruled out for this game. There have been further cases in the camp but the number and identity of these players have not been disclosed by coach Djamel Belmadi.
Injury: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Unavailable: Raïs M'Bolhi, Mustapha Zeghba, Youcef Belaïli, Houcine Benayada, Amine Tougaï
The Gambia
After pledging allegiance to the Gambia recently, ex-Manchester United defender Saidy Janko is out with a shoulder injury. He would be hoping to recover in time for AFCON.
Injury: Saidy Janko
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Algeria vs Gambia Predicted XI
Algeria Predicted XI (4-5-1): Abderrahmane Medjadel; Ilyes Chetti, Issa Mandy, Mehdi Jean-Tahrat, Reda Halaimia; Yacine Brahimi, Sofiane Bendebka, Ismail Bennacer, El Arbi Soudani, Zakaria Draoui; Baghdad Bounedjah
Gambia Predicted XI (4-4-2): Baboucarr Gaye; Pa Modou Jagne, Omar Colley, James Gomez, Noah Sonko Sundberg; Ebrima Sohna, Dawda Ngum, Sulayman Marreh, Ebrima Darboe; Lamin Jallow, Bubacarr Jobe
Algeria vs Gambia Prediction
Algeria's performance in this game could be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in their training camp, but they have enough firepower to overpower the Gambia here.
The Gambia have scored just six goals in their competitive fixtures in 2021 and are expected to struggle against the reigning AFCON champions.
Prediction: Algeria 2-1 Gambia.
