Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan makes a return to first team place in a must win match against Algeria.

The Al Ain striker was out with a mild bout of malaria and in his absence Ghana lost the opening Group C match against Senegal.

In a line up announced two hours before the game, Coach Avram Grant also introduces Afriyie Acquah as replacement for Rabiu Mohammed.

Ghana need a win badly if they want to secure a place in the next round of the competition while the Desert Warriors attempt to consolidate their place on the top of the table after beating South Africa 3-1 in the first game.

Black Stars XI:

Razak Brimah, Harrison Afful, Baba Rahman, Jonathan Mensah, Daniel Amartey, Afriyie Acquah, Agyemang Badu, Christian Atsu, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew

Kickoff time is 16:00 GMT at the Estadio Mongomo. Myjoyonline.com will bring you live update of the match.
Ghana coach Avram Grant makes two changes from his previous line up as the Black Stars take on Algeria in Mongomo on Friday afternoon.

PREVIEW

Ghana's Black Stars have an image redemption mission when they come up against Algeria's Desert Warriors in a must win AFCON Group C encounter, later Friday at the Estadio De Mongomo.

With a horrible outing in Brazil and an opening day AFCON defeat to Senegal, home support for the Black Stars is all but gone.

Now 'orphaned', the Stars need to grind a good result against the top ranked African side if they are to win back a modicum of support and later qualify for the next stage of the competition.

And the Stars appear to be in a better mood than they were before their opening encounter against Senegal.

Captain Asamoah Gyan who was down and out with a mild bout of malaria is back and ready to lead the Stars. So is defender John Boye, who despite a mountain of criticism still remains one of Ghana's experienced defenders currently at the tournament.

The Stars must play with a rare heart of resilience and fortitude if they are to breakdown a well knit Algerian side who are solid in midfield and ruthless in attack.

The Warriors are in scintillating form, no wonder they have been tugged as favorites for the tournament.

Despite their attacking sublimity the Algerians have also shown a certain level of defensive frailty and sometimes naivety at the back and the Stars must be ready to exploit that.

With an emphatic 3-1 win against South Africa, in the group's opener, Algeria are not under any pressure to deliver and that may prove to be their Achilles heel.

Ghana's Coach Avram Grant needs a lot of fine tuning with his tactics, one that the players would easily adapt to. That would be a good beginning.

The rest would depend on the players on the field of play.