Nigeria vs Tunisia
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Today’s free tip is in the international friendly between Nigeria and Tunisia, which is being played in Austria.
Tunisia enter this match on the back of a wholly unsurprising win over a poor Sudanese team. Nigeria lost their last match 1-0 against Algeria, although to be honest, the outcome wasn’t a fair reliction of what was essentially a very even game. Algeria took the lead early on with a scrappy goal from a set piece, and managed to hold it for the rest of the game. I never felt they looked comfortable in dealing with Nigeria, though. They did have some good counters whilst 1-0 up but ultimately Nigeria were too fit for them to properly deal with. Luck was on the North Africans’ side, though, as Nigeria’s final third decision-making was too poor for a goal to be scored.
Where Algeria had the individuals to hurt Nigeria when their opportunities came, I don’t see the same threat in the Tunisian squad. Badri is still not in the equation, for starters, and their main creator, Khazri, has had a nightmare of a time at AS Saint-Etienne this season. He’s been injured a lot of the time, and when he finally got back, he got sent off! Generally speaking, all good things in the Tunisian squad come through him or Msakni, and with Khazri far from himself, and Msakni not at his best for a few years now, it’s hard to take them seriously against a good Nigerian team.
I know they’ve got some players coming through that they feel can make a difference. I do like what Khaoui brings to the table, for example, although he’s more of a dictator. Sliti has matured a lot since his move to Saudi Arabia. They’ve also found their next biggest talent in Brondby’s Ben Slimane, who bagged on his debut versus Sudan. It’s certainly not a bad team, and will unquestionably bring typically North African characteristics into this affair i.e. slick passing, good speed, tenacity, and over-zealous challenges. However, a good Tunisian team, it is not.
Let’s not forget that Tunisia are still without key defender Abdennour too, leaving it all to Maaloul, which is far from ideal. I appreciate that Abdennour either hasn’t been there physically or mentally in Tunisian red for quite some time now, but he remains the best that they’ve got, and being without him will make them vulnerable against the right teams. Sudan isn’t that kind of team; they can’t use the ball well enough to get around Tunisia’s tenacious midfield. However, Nigeria can, and that’s where I think things will be different for Tunisia today.
There’s only one area of the Nigerian squad that bothers me, and that’s their central midfield. I didn’t think they did enough against Algeria, especially not in an attacking sense. Obi Mikel’s retirement, Onazi’s absence, and Ndidi’s injury has left them without a core, and it does show. Their biggest issue against Algeria was in making the right calls in the final third. I expect their fast wide threats to try adventurous stuff sometimes; that’s the nature of the beast. It’s their attacking midfielders through the middle that are more responsible for making the right calls more often – and they didn’t. Simply put, they’re not very good right now, and that’s an obstacle that Nigeria have to overcome here.
Still, with Tunisia’s attacking threat much more limited than Algeria’s, and assuming that Nigeria don’t mess up defensively again, Nigeria should not lose this match. Their defence looks in better shape than it has for ages now that Aina and Awaziem are on the scene in addition to the usual suspects. It’s not a brilliant defence but it’s deeper and more physical than usual, and that’s all an attacking team like this really needs in order to succeed. I do want to know what the conclusion of their goalkeeping experiment is, though. Will Ezenwa/Akpeyi/Uzoho be restored? Time will tell. The search for Enyeama’s replacement continues!
It’s the Nigerian attack that is generally rather dangerous though. True enough, I don’t understand how Iheanacho has found himself in this squad because he’s done nothing to warrant it in recent times, and I’d personally much rather see Olayinka or Dennis in there for a bit of variety. They could do with blooding Osimhen a bit more too, even if he is a bit overrated. Still, aside from Iheanacho, this attack looks good because of the variety and depth in it. I couldn’t honestly say that any of the Nigerian attackers are brilliant, but the different options they bring is what makes the team dangerous. For example, handling both Musa’s pace and Onuachu’s aerial prowess is hard enough without factoring in Iwobi’s intelligent movement and dribbling, not to mention Simon and Ejuke, arguably the two most in-form of the lot. They’ve got Chukwueze and Kalu as more orthodox creators too. It’s a lethal attack on its day, basically.
Even without the central midfield issue resolved, I can’t see Nigeria struggling to create as much as they did against Algeria last time out. They’re too good for it. I also don’t see Tunisia having enough individual talent in their squad to hurt Nigerian’s superior athleticism and structure. Therefore, I’ve got to consider 4/5 on Nigeria to win with draw no bet at as a good value pick today.
Verdict: Nigeria to win with draw no bet at 4/5
Tuesday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
World Cup Qualifiers – South America:
Bolivia vs Argentina
Ecuador vs Uruguay
Venezuela vs Paraguay
UEFA Nations League:
Germany vs Switzerland
Ukraine vs Spain
Azerbaijan vs Cyprus
Montenegro vs Luxembourg
Latvia vs Malta
Faroe Islands vs Andorra
Liechtenstein vs San Marino
International Friendlies:
Japan vs Ivory Coast
Morocco vs Congo DR
Gambia vs Guinea
Mexico vs Algeria
Nigeria vs Tunisia
Senegal vs Mauritania
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers:
North Macedonia vs Israel
Greece vs Croatia
Latvia vs Russia
Moldova vs Belgium
Luxembourg vs Iceland
Georgia vs Azerbaijan
Italy vs Republic of Ireland
San Marino vs Scotland
Lithuania vs Czech Republic
Switzerland vs Liechtenstein
Estonia vs Serbia
Poland vs Bulgaria
Faroe Islands vs Montenegro
Cyprus vs Netherlands
Denmark vs Finland
Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina
Sweden vs Armenia
Spain vs Kazakhstan
Kosovo vs Andorra
Gibraltar vs Portugal
Norway vs Belarus
Romania vs Malta
Northern Ireland vs Ukraine
England vs Turkey
Brazilian Serie A:
Flamengo vs Goias
Enjoy your free betting tips!