Senegal vs Gambia Prediction 15.01.2024

• Competition: Africa Cup of Nations - Group C
• Date: Monday, 15th, January 2024
• Kickoff: 14:00 UTC / 15.00 CET
• Venue: Charles Konan Banny Stadium (Yamoussoukro)

Senegal embarks on their mission to defend the title in the African Cup of Nations on Monday, squaring off against Gambia in the opening fixture of Group C at Charles Konan Banny Stadium.

Senegal vs Gambia Betting Tips: Senegal -1.5 (AH)

Despite succumbing to a narrow 0-1 defeat against Algeria in the 2019 final in Egypt, the Lions of Teranga bounced back impressively two years later, beating Egypt 4-2 in a penalty shootout to hoist their first Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

Taking the field on Monday as the defending champions, Senegal will seek a powerful and emphatic start to the tournament to unmistakably convey their commitment to becoming only the fourth African team to defend the AFCON title.

Aliou Cisse's men have warmed up well ahead of the continent's biggest competition, not tasting the bitter taste of defeat in any of their past four matches, while kicking off their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign on a positive note with four points as a result of a dominant 4-0 win over South Sudan and a goalless 0-0 draw away to Togo.

While their defensive prowess has stood out as the primary strength in recent encounters, shutting each of their past four opponents out of the scoresheet, Senegal must now sharpen their attacking edge to comfortably top Group C, having scored two or more goals only once in the last six affairs.

The defending AFCON champions will test their mettle in the opening group-stage test against Gambia, a national team grappling with limited time for psychological recovery after narrowly escaping an airplane mishap, with several players losing consciousness during takeoff for the tournament due to a lack of oxygen.

Apart from their insufficient mental preparedness to face one of the strongest African selections, the least-ranked AFCON competitor on the FIFA rankings, Gambia, is also stepping into this year's tournament final with a wavering mood, having started the 2026 WC qualifiers abysmally with losses to Burundi (2-3) and Ivory Coast (0-2).

A further worry for coach Tom Saintfiet is the dwindling resilience of his defensive foursome, as evidenced by letting in two or more goals in four straight matches. Spearheaded by formidable attackers like Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson, and many others, we are convinced that Senegal will achieve a robust triumph.