Ivory Coast square off with Comoros at the Stade Bouake in the first of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header on Friday.

This will be the second meeting between the two nations since the Elephants stormed to a 3-1 friendly victory when the sides locked horns in June 2019.

As they resume their quest for a record-equalling 25th AFCON appearance, Friday’s game also serves as an opportunity for Ivory Coast to put behind and move on from January’s Africa Nations Championship woes.

Having finished as one of the three best losers in the group stages, the Elephants fell to a 1-0 loss against Algeria in the quarter-finals on January 27, with Aimen Mahious tucking away his extra-time penalty to send the Greens through.

Prior to their CHAN campaign, the West African side were on a run of consecutive friendly defeats, losing 2-1 against Burkina Faso in November 2022 — which saw their five-game unbeaten run come to an end — before being thrashed 3-0 by Mauritania in their first outing of 2023.

While Ivory Coast have struggled to get going over the past few months, managing just one win in their last six matches, they will take pride in their performance in the AFCON qualifiers, where they have enjoyed a solid start to the campaign.

Having kicked off their campaign with a resounding 3-1 victory over Zambia last June, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men held Lesotho to a goalless draw six days later to move top of Group H with four points from a possible six.

Ivory Coast Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

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Ivory Coast form (all competitions):

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Comoros Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

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Comoros form (all competitions):

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Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:

A Sangare; Aurier, Kossounou, Bailly, Konan; I Sangare, Seri, Kessie; Diallo, Gradel, Haller

Comoros possible starting lineup:

Ahamada; A Abdallah, M Abdallah, M’Dahoma, B Youssouf, M Youssouf; Bachirou, M’Changama, Bourhane; Selemani,Nabouhane

Ivory Coast 3-0 Comoros

Looking at the gulf in class and quality between the two squads, it is difficult not to see Ivory Coast cruising to a comfortable victory. Buoyed by the support of their home fans, we predict that Gasset’s men will come away with all three points in what should be a pulsating contest with plenty of goal-mouth action.