South Africa to flop again

 

The pressure is on the hosts to improve but James Eastham predicts another disappointing day for Bafana Bafana...

 

South Africa v Angola (Wed)

Live on British Eurosport, 15:00 GMT, Match Odds: South Africa 2.24, Angola 4.0, The Draw 3.1.

 

Hosts South Africa go into their second group game under pressure after their underwhelming opening-day 0-0 draw against Cape Verde.

 

Home fears the side would fail to catch fire proved correct as a laboured South Africa performance suggested this group will go down to the final day.

 

Pre-tournament the Bafana Bafana were 2.12 to win the group but we layed them at 2.18 and now the hosts have moved out to 2.44 to top the pool.

 

And there are few reasons to back them with confidence here, especially as Angola showed flashes of quality against Morocco.

 

That second match on the opening day also finished 0-0 but Gustavo Ferrin's underdogs came close to winning it during a rousing second-half performance in which they produced moments of skill.

 

The main conclusion you can draw from those opening-day Group A matches was there's very little to pick between the four teams in the group, so Angola look better value at 4.0 than South Africa at 2.24. Using the Match Odds as a starting point, my preference is to back Angola with a start on the Asian Handicap.

 

The other market to look at is Over/Under 2.5 goals. With no goals in two matches on matchday 1 in this group it's no surprise unders is a short price, but I feel the market may have overreacted.

 

Unders is 1.47 and overs 3.0, that latter being a big price considering there's a do-or-die feeling about this game - i.e. a second consecutive defeat would almost certainly spell elimination. I'd consider overs, with the possibility of trading to guarantee a profit during the game.

 

 

Morocco v Cape Verde (Wed)

Live on British Eurosport & ITV4, 18:00 GMT, Match Odds: Morocco 1.94, Cape Verde 4.8, The Draw 3.4

 

Watching these two teams on tournament opening day you felt both had more to offer. Morocco started brightly but only flickered into life occasionally after that, while Cape Verde's 0-0 draw against hosts South Africa was a good result for their first-ever African Cup of Nations game, yet you sensed they could have done even better.

 

With such potential I expect an exciting game in Durban on Wednesday afternoon, although calling it is hard. Will Cape Verde have the nerve and experience to build on that opening-day draw against the hosts or will a second match in quick succession against heavyweight opposition be too much for them to handle - and will Morocco click into gear the way we know they can or produce another frustratingly inconsistent performance?

 

Morocco deserve to be favourites but 1.94 on neutral soil looks too short. Yes, they may win - but should they really be odds-on against talented rookies with nothing to lose? At those odds I would rather lay than back Morocco.

 

Recommended Bets

Best Bet: Angola +0&+0.5 Asian Handicap v South Africa @ 2.03

Lay Morocco v Cape Verde @ 1.96

 

Bet HERE

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