Algeria begin their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Angola tonight.
The Fennec Foxes head to the Ivory Coast as among the sides expected to compete for glory, looking to bounce back from a disastrous 2021 campaign in Cameroon in which the defence of their 2019 title quickly crumbled as they finished winless and rock bottom of their group as their long unbeaten run finally came to an abrupt halt.
Algeria will be hopeful of righting that wrong this month, placed in a gentle-looking Group D on paper that also includes Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
The two-time winners get underway against Angola in Bouake, having eased past the likes of Burundi in warm-up friendlies led by their star players that include former Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer, among others.
2006 World Cup qualifiers Angola are making their ninth appearance at AFCON and their first since 2019, when they were eliminated at the group stage.
They reached the quarter-finals in successive tournaments in 2008 and 2010, hosting the latter, but will likely be competing with Mauritania to avoid bottom spot this time around.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Algeria vs Angola is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off today, Monday January 15, 2024.
The Group D contest will take place at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake, Ivory Coast.
Where to watch Algeria vs Angola
TV channel: In the UK, Monday's game will be televised live on Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage beginning at 7:55pm.
Live stream: Subscribers can also watch the match live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on Monday night via Standard Sport’s live match blog.
Algeria vs Angola team news
Milan midfielder Bennacer is back for Algeria in a huge boost following knee surgery that kept him out from May until December, with the likes of Mahrez, Roma's Houssem Aouar, Islam Slimani, Ramy Bensebaini, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Nabil Bentaleb and Sofiane Feghouli among the regulars in Djamel Belmadi's squad.
Union SG's Mohamed Amoura and Fares Chaibi of Eintracht Frankurt are lesser-known talents that could shine at this tournament. West Ham's Said Benrahma is among the most notable absentees, meanwhile.
Pedro Goncalves' Angola are crucially without Fiorentina forward M’bala Nzola, who has decided to snub the AFCON call-up due to family reasons having been included in the preliminary group.
Former Birmingham striker Jeremie Bela is in the squad, but ex-Wolves pair Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro aren't included.
Algeria vs Angola prediction
Algeria will be desperate to lay down a marker from the outset here and ensure there is no chance of any repeat of their epic failure from 2021.
Minnows Angola do not score many but don't tend to concede too many either, coming into this tournament on the back of four successive 0-0 draws including in a warm-up friendly against the DR Congo.
We expect Algeria to dominate proceedings in this one, but that might not be quite reflected on the scoreboard by the end of the game with so many of these early fixtures tending to be settled by the odd goal.
Algeria to win, 1-0.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Six of the previous eight meetings between these two nations have ended all square, including a 0-0 stalemate on their last encounter during the group stage of the 2010 AFCON tournament in Angola.
Angola's one and only win over Algeria to date came during their successful qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, while the latter emerged victorious in matches in both 1985 and 2001.
Algeria wins: 2
Angola wins: 1
Draws: 6
Algeria vs Angola match odds
Algeria to win: 11/21
Angola to win: 15/2
Draw: 16/5
