Preview: Morocco vs Central African Republic – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

Morocco will look to build on their impressive record at the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers this week when they compete against each other Central African Republic at the Stade d'Honneur d'Oujda on Saturday.

The hosts are going into the third game week of qualification with good momentum and are currently at the top of Group B with six points, while the guests are in third place in the group standings with three points.

Game preview

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Morocco will look to pick up another six points over the next two matchdays as their upcoming opponents' stadiums are deemed unsuitable for international competitions and the away game between these teams will also be played here in Oujda next week.

This gives the Atlas Lions the perfect opportunity to extend their perfect record in the competition, following a comfortable 4-1 win against Gabon in their opening game and a 1-0 away win against Lesotho in the second week.

With these results, Walid RegraguiThe Barcelona side are now unbeaten in their last six games, winning each of their last four games and scoring an impressive 13 goals during their winning streak while conceding just one goal.

Since their huge disappointment at the last Africa Cup of Nations, the Atlas Stars have played four games on home soil and won three, with the only exception being a goalless draw against Mauritania in a friendly in March.

These teams last met during the group qualifiers for the 2021 AFCON competition and Morocco won both games, extending their unbeaten streak against this opponent to five games, including three wins and two draws.

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Meanwhile, the Central African Republic is taking part in the AFCON qualifiers for the ninth time and will be hoping to finally secure a place in the main draw this year.

Les Fauves made an excellent start to qualifying, beating Lesotho 3-1 on the opening day last month, but were unable to build on that result and suffered a 2-0 defeat on the road to Gabon four days later.

Despite it, Raoul SavoyThe country's team has a positive record in 2024 with four wins in six games, while their only other defeat this year was a 4-3 thrashing by Ghana in World Cup qualifying in June.

Although CAR has improved in recent months, they still have to contend with a tendency to leak cheap goals, as we have seen in each of their last three games where they have scored seven.

In addition to addressing their defensive woes, the visitors will need to improve their away record if they are to have any chance of qualifying. In their last twelve away games, Les Fauves have lost nine times and won just once.

Africa Cup of Nations Morocco qualification form:

Morocco form (all competitions):

Central African Republic Africa Cup of Nations qualification form:

Central African Republic form (all competitions):

Team news

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Morocco suffered a late injury blow in the build-up to this game with Manchester United deployed at full-back Noussair Mazraoui He reportedly withdrew from the squad to undergo heart surgery after feeling palpitations.

Other notable Atlas Lions absences this week include: Brahim Diaz And Hakim Ziyech due to an injury to the offspring Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal received his first appearance in the national team.

For the visitors, Louis Mafouta has been their main attacking sparker of late, scoring five goals in his last three games, including a hat-trick in the loss to the Black Stars in June.

The Amiens striker is likely to team up with the CSKA Sofia striker Goduine Koyalipou in attack for this game, while Marseille Geoffrey Kondogbia will probably try to pull the strings in the guests' midfield.

Possible starting lineup for Morocco:
Bounou; Abkar, Aznou, Aguerd, Boudlal; El Khannouss, Amrabat, Saibari, Ounahi, Ezzalzouli, En-Nesyri

Possible Central African Republic starting lineup:
Youfeigane; Gambor, Yoga, Ndobe, Tatolna; Baboula, Solet, Kondogbia, Namnganda; Koyalipou; Mafouta

We say: Morocco – Central African Republic 3:1

Although the Central African Republic has achieved some impressive results in recent months, they have never faced a team with the kind of talent that Morocco possesses and we believe the visitors will not be able to keep up with the Atlas Lions in this game.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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