Algeria begin their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Group C with a tricky test against Kenya on Sunday evening at 30 June Stadium. 

Algeria, captained by Manchester City forward, Riyad Mahrez need a win in their quest to advance to the knockout phase of the tournament after suffering a shocking group stage exit two years ago in Gabon. 

On the other hand, this will be Kenya’s sixth appearance and they hope to give a good account of themselves starting from the game tonight. The Harambee Stars were impressive in the qualifiers as they finished second behind Ghana, whom they beat 1-0 in Nairobi. 

What is the kickoff time for the match?

The match starts at 20: 00GMT.

Recent form in all competitions

Algeria: The Desert Foxes are heading into the encounter undefeated in their last five matches(W3, D2)

Kenya:  The form of Sebastien Migne’s charges is moderate ahead of the game. They have won two of their previous four games in all competition. 

Team News

There are no injury concerns for Algeria with the likes Riyad Mahrez of expected to hit the ground running.

Head coach Djamel Belmadi, has, however,  warned against complacency “You must not take these (smaller) teams lightly. We saw a balanced match between Egypt and Zimbabwe”.

For Kenya, their Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama is fully fit for the game. 

Speaking ahead of the game, Wanyama believes Algeria must be considered among the favourites for the title, “There are many strong teams in the tournament, but I have to say Senegal, Algeria and Morroco with host, Egypt are favourites”.

Kenya coach Sebastien Migne is counting on luck to beat Algeria. “We want to learn, we want to work together and hopefully, we will get some bit of luck”.

Head to Head record

This will be the seventh meeting between the two sides, but the first at the AFCON. Of the six previous clashes, Algeria have three wins, two wins for Kenya and a draw.

Probable XI

ALGERIA: Rais M’Boldhi, Aissa Mandi, Mehdi Tahrat, Mehdi Zeffane, Mohammed Fares, Mehdi Abeid, Ismail Bennacer, Sofiane Feghouli, Yacine Brahimi, Islam Slimani, Riyad Mahrez

KENYA; Patrick Matasi, Philemon Otieno, Joseph Okumu, Joash Onyango, Abud Omar, Dennis Odhiambo, Victor Wanyama, Francis Kahata, Ayub Timbe, Eric Johanna, Michael Olunga.

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