The stage is set for the Round of 16 clash between Algeria and Guinea at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo as both teams look to secure a quarter-final berth and move closer to the coveted Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

Can Guinea continue the trend of upsets that have already been established by Benin and South Africa? or will Algeria easily blitz Guinea and carry on with their superiority in this showcase?

What is the kick-off time?

The match will start at exactly 19:00 GMT

The two teams recent form

Algeria can boast of a perfect record so far, beating Senegal by a lone goal, Kenya by two goals to nil and Tanzania 3-0.

The likes of Ismael Bennacer, Riyad Mahrez, Islam Slimani and Adam Ounas have all produced moments of magic to ensure their team’s first-place finish in Group C.

Guinea, however, have had an average performance and had to qualify as one of the best third-place teams. They started off with a 2-2 draw with Madagascar and then lost 1-0 to Nigeria.

They did make the most of the final round of fixtures in the group stages, beating Burundi by two goals to nil.

The head to head record

Their first AFCON meeting was in 1980 at Ibadan in the first round and Algeria ran away as 3-2 winners. Their second and most recent meeting was 18 years later in Ouagadougou, also in the group stage. Guinea got their revenge, winning by a goal to nil.

This tie will no doubt decide the better side after its conclusion.

Team News: Who is available, injured or suspended?

Algeria did have a scare as Yacine Brahimi missed the final group game against Tanzania due to injury but the midfielder has been declared fit to play the round of 16 game, a big boost for Djamel Belmadi. The Fennec Foxes have nothing to worry about in the suspension category with everyone available to play later today.

Guinea will be missing the services of Naby Keita, who sustained an injury in their second match against Nigeria and had to return to his club for treatment, a big blow for Paul Put. They however do not have suspension concerns.

Potential Starting XI’s

Algeria: Rais Mbolhi, Aissa Mandi, Djamel Benlamri, Youcef Atal, Amir Bensebaini, Riyad Mahrez, Sofiane Feghouli, Adam Ounas, Ismael Bennacer, Youcef Belali, Baghdad Bounedjah

Guinea: Ibrahim Kone, Issiaga Sylla, Ernest Seka, Simon Falette, Dyrestam Mikael, Amadou Diawara, Ibrahima Cisse, Mohamed Yattara, Francois Komano, Ibrahima Traore, Sory Kaba

MATCH FACTS

This is Algeria’s fourth consecutive appearance in the AFCON, dating back to 2013. They last won it in 1990 as hosts, beating Nigeria 1-0 in the final.

This is Algeria’s second time of advancing to the knockout stage of the AFCON in the past four tournaments, winning just five of their 13 matches across the competitions (D3 L5) since finishing fourth in 2010.

Guinea have played in 11 previous AFCON tournaments without clinching the trophy; only Senegal (14) have featured in more without winning it all. Guinea’s best finish was runners up in 1976 behind Morocco in a final group stage format at the time.

Guinea were impressive overall in qualification, maintaining an unbeaten record (W3 D3) in a group that contained 2015 AFCON winners Ivory Coast, Central African Republic and Rwanda.

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