Nigeria hope opening victory over Burkina Faso will be just the first step towards their third Africa Cup of Nations title, but their opponents might have other things on their minds.

Rather than attracting attention with their impressive performances, the Super Eagles have become famous for underachieving at major competitions, having failed to live up to their potential on so many occasions.

They arrive in South Africa hoping to shake off the unwanted tag, but winning over the fans and reaching the AFCON final will prove to be a difficult task.

Boss Stephen Keshi has made wholesale changes to his squad, omitting the likes of Obafemi Martins and Peter Odemwingie, but there is still plenty of quality in the side.

John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa and Ideye Brown are all tipped to shine in South Africa, while their teammates also appear to be in good shape for the start of the tournament.

Nigeria are 1.80 (4/5) favourites with BetVictor to see off Burkina Faso in their opening match, while they are 11.00 (10/1) at Coral to win their third AFCON title.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Enyeama – Omeruo, Oboabona, Yobo, Elderson – Igiebor, Mikel, Ogude – Musa, Ideye, Moses.

Burkina Faso are another team struggling to fulfill their potential, with three straight defeats at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations a very disappointing result.

The Stallions then had a slow start to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, picking up just one point from first two games, but they somehow managed to qualify for 2013 AFCON, recording a 3-2 aggregate win over Central African Republic.

Burkina Faso now arrive in South Africa high on confidence after doing pretty well in warm-up games, and they are 5.50 (9/2) with Paddy Power to win their first match at the tournament.

With Jonathan Pitroipa and Alain Traore playing behind proven goalscorer Moumouni Dagano, the Stallions look a good bet to score against Nigeria, and they are 1.73 (8/11) with Sportingbet to do so.

Marseille midfielder Charles Kabore will be responsible for the engine room, while Lyon centre-back Bakary Kone is likely to have his work cut out for him against the likes of Musa, Ideye and Moses.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-2-1): Diakite – H. Traore, B. Kone, Koulibaly, Panandetiguiri – Rouamba, Kabore, Koffi – Pitroipa, A. Traore – Dagano.