Sports Mole previews Sunday’s World Cup Qualifying – Africa clash between Djibouti and Ethiopia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Djibouti will be hoping to secure their first points in World Cup qualifying when they host Ethiopia on Sunday at Stade El Abdi.
The Shoremen of the Red Sea have slumped to defeats in all three of their qualifying matches thus far, leaving them rooted to the bottom of Group A.
Match preview
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Djibouti entered their third World Cup qualifier with aspirations of grabbing a result against a Sierra Leone side also without a win.
However, the Shoremen of the Red Sea were left disappointed after succumbing to a 2-1 defeat. They fell behind after conceding a goal to Curtis Davies, but managed to equalise in the first half through a Gabriel Dadzie penalty, their first goal in the qualifiers.
Sierra Leone’s Augustus Kargbo netted in the second half, and Abdourahman Okieh‘s men were unable to find a response, leaving them pointless and with a goal difference of minus eight.
Next up is a clash against Ethiopia, who are also searching for their third ever World Cup qualifying victory – the first coming against Somalia in 2007 and the second against Eswatini in 2019.
Djibouti, however, have a daunting task ahead of them, having lost all five of their previous meetings against Sunday’s opponents.
Ethiopia sit just one place above their Sunday hosts with two points garnered from three World Cup qualifying matches.
The Walias commenced their campaign with a scoreless home draw against Sierra Leone but were then thumped 3-0 by Burkina Faso in their following match, before another goalless draw against Guinea-Bissau a few days ago.
Since taking the helm as head coach last November, Gebremedhin Haile has yet to guide his team to a competitive victory. They are also one of the few sides yet to find the net during this qualifying campaign.
However, given the calibre of their opposition, Ethiopia will be hoping to end their goal drought while also registering their first away victory since September 2022, when they secured a 1-0 win over Rwanda in the African Nations Championship qualifiers.
Djibouti World Cup Qualifying – Africa form:
Djibouti form (all competitions):
Ethiopia World Cup Qualifying – Africa form:
Ethiopia form (all competitions):
Team News
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AS Arta’s Dadzie scored Djibouti’s first goal in this qualifying series and is a man to watch in this clash.
Mahad Abdi Abdillahi and Samuel Akinbinu are the other two players expected to complete the forward line.
Ethiopia are yet to find the net in this qualifying campaign but they are likely to remain with the same attacking three from the last match, including Wogene Gezahegn, Menyelu Wondimu and Mesfin Tafesse.
Canaan Markneh, Beneyam Demte and Gatoch Panom are three players expected to play in midfield.
Djibouti possible starting lineup:
Luyima; Farada, Siad, Moustapha, Hamadou, Mohamed; Elabeh, Aden; Abdillahi, Dadzie, Akinbinu
Ethiopia possible starting lineup:
Habtamu; Berhane, Solomon, Jemal, Kassaye; Demte, Markneh, Panom; Gezahegn, Wondimu, Tafesse.
We say: Djibouti 1-2 Ethiopia
Ethiopia and Djibouti might both be struggling but the visitors have more match-winners in their ranks and have dominated this fixture over the years. We are tipping them to edge this affair.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.