Milovan Rajevac will have his second debut as Ghana manager when his side welcome Zimbabwe to the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Saturday.

Both teams come on the back of slender defeats and will seek to bounce back from their respective slumps.

The home side suffered a 1-0 loss against South Africa on September 6, while the visitors were beaten 1-0 by Ethiopia the following day.

Match preview

Off the back of an opening-day victory over Ethiopia, Ghana had the opportunity against South Africa to open up an advantage at the top of Group G which they failed to utilise.

The contest was level as the game entered into its final stages only for Bongokuhle Hlongwane to sink Charles Akonnor's men in Johannesburg with an 83rd-minute strike.

That defeat was the final nail in Akonnor's coffin as the Black Stars fell one point behind the Bafana Bafana in what is set to be a frenetic battle for a place in Qatar next year.

The Black Stars completed their last training session at the Cape Coast Stadium ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe. A press conference preceded Ghana's final training.

JoySports' @garyalsmith is in Cape Coast and reports. #WorldCupQualifiers pic.twitter.com/QlrVhcBETy

— 2021/22 Football Season (@JoySportsGH) October 8, 2021

The West Africans now seek an immediate response against a Zimbabwe side who have lost three of the last six meetings between the teams.

Saturday's hosts, who are unbeaten in their last six matches in a home game since a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Mali in 2020, will be confident of coming away with all three points in this one.

Rajevac's men are full of confidence after thrashing lower tier side Soccer Intellectuals 8-0 in a warm up game.

Zimbabwe gave a good account of themselves in their meeting with Ethiopia, which was decided right at the death thanks to a penalty from Aschalew Tamene.

After the game, head coach Zdravko Logarusic was sacked as the Warriors remained winless in the qualifiers.

Zimbabwe, who were unlucky not to have come out on top against South Africa in the opening round, were left cursing their luck once again against Ethiopia.

Despite changing coaches, @Lawmangenje believes Zimbabwe has what it takes to cause an upset against the Black Stars.#JoySports pic.twitter.com/ncjmYDAVp2

— 2021/22 Football Season (@JoySportsGH) October 8, 2021

The Warriors are the only side in the group yet to record a victory and unsurprisingly, they currently sit bottom after the first two matchdays.

Interim coach Norman Mapeza who has a three month contract will lead the team against the Black Stars.

Zimbabwe have also failed to find the back of the net in that time and will need to get going at the attacking end in order to turn a corner.

Ghana form: D-W-L-D-W-L

Zimbabwe form: D-D-L-L-D-L

Team News

For the first time in a long while, the Black Stars have all key players available.

Captain Andre Ayew, who has scored four goals in four starts for new club Al Sadd is part of the camp although it is unclear why he didn't play a part in the warm up game.

His brother Jordan Ayew was deployed in the wings against Soccer Intellectuals and could play a similar role on Saturday.

Kamaldeen Sulemana has been in sensational form and is enjoying life in France with Rennes. The Right to Dream graduate is expected to start from the left wing.

Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus make their return to the national team after missing the previous assignment due to injury.

Richard Ofori is still nursing an injury and has been replaced with debutant Jojo Wollacot.

Prolific striker Knowledge Musona will lead the line for the Warriors once again. He's scored 23 times in just 47 games for them and will be raring to bag a few more in the qualifiers.

Key man Khama Billiat will be a big miss for the Warriors after he accumulated yellow cards and will be suspended for the tie in Cape Coast.

Zimbabwe will however have Kudakwashe Mahachi and Marvelous Nakamba available.

Luton Town defender Brendan Galloway is the only uncapped player in the squad.

Ghana possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Wollacot; Baffuor, Dijku, Amartey, Gideon Mensah; Partey, Iddrisu, Sulemana, Jordan Ayew; Kudus, Fameyeh

Zimbabwe possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Shumba; Chimwemwe, Bhasera, Mudimu, Lunga; Chikwende, Nakamba, Munetsi, Dzvukamanja, Mutizwa; Musona

Ghana vs Zimbabwe prediction

Both teams will still feel the effect of the new manager bounce with players trying to impress their respective new coaches. However, Ghana's quality should be the telling factor at a ground the Black Stars have enjoyed a lot of success.

Prediction: Ghana 4-1 Zimbabwe

https://poll.fm/10937575