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DR Congo will face Zambia at the Laurent Pokou Stadium on Wednesday in the opening round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Leopards are set to make their return to the Africa Cup of Nations this week after missing out on the previous edition in Cameroon. They were beaten 2-1 by Burkina Faso in a friendly clash between the two teams last week, finding themselves two goals down at the break before Olympique Marseille's Chancel Mbemba halved the deficit in the second half.
DR Congo were beaten 2-0 by Uganda in their last AFCON group opener and will be hoping for a positive start this time around.
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Zambia, meanwhile, last appeared in the continental showpiece back in 2015 and will be looking to mark their return with a win.
Like their opponents, they were in action last week facing Cameroon at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in a friendly clash which ended 1-1. Leicester City's Patson Daka scored the opener before their opponents leveled the scores midway through the first half.
DR Congo vs Zambia Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 12 meetings between the two teams. DR Congo have won just two of those games while Zambia have won double that tally. There have been six draws between the two teams.
- The two sides last faced off in a friendly clash back in November 2015 which the Leopards won 3-0, ending a 10-game winless streak in this fixture.
- The Copper Bullets have kept just one clean sheet in their last five games in this fixture.
- Zambia are without a clean sheet in their last three matches.
- DR Congo were ranked 67th in the latest FIFA rankings and now sit 17 places above their midweek opponents.
DR Congo vs Zambia Prediction
DR Congo are on a run of back-to-back defeats and have won just one of their last six games across all competitions. They will be looking to shake off their latest results and return to winning ways this week.
Zambia are winless in their last two matches and have won just two of their last six. Neither side are in encouraging form ahead of their midweek clash and they could share the spoils here.
Prediction: DR Congo 1-1 Zambia
DR Congo vs Zambia Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Four of the last six matches between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in four of Zambia's last six matches)
