Co-hosts Gabon did well to beat Niger 2-0 in their opening game, but the Panthers are likely to face a much tougher task against wounded lion that is Morocco. The Atlas Lions lost their opening game to Tunisia despite largely dominating the proceedings, with Eric Gerets’ side now in desperate need of a win.

Perfect start for Gabon

Gabon were never considered a force to be reckoned with in African football, but the Panthers have been showing a lot of potential of late. After the unsuccessful 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and the poor performance at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, national team chiefs brought German coach Gernot Rhor, who has brought a lot of improvement to Gabon. The Panthers had mixed success in the friendly games preceding this tournament, beating the likes of Niger and Equatorial Guinea, but losing to Gambia, Senegal and Ghana, so their fans were not really sure what to expect from the team at the 2012 AFCON. However, Gabon eased off to a win over one of the weakest sides at the tournament, recording a 2:0 win over Niger, and they are now in a very good position to qualify. Nevertheless, the hosts are now set to face a much tougher opponent and one of the favourites for the trophy and I am not convinced they have what it takes to get something from this clash.

Coach Gernot Rhor has no fresh injury worries, with only Stephane N’Guema one yellow card away from suspension.

Last chance for Morocco

Boasting a very balanced squad, filled with talent in every area of the team, Morocco arrived to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations as one of the tournament for the trophy, but the Atlas Lions couldn’t get off to a winning start. In all fairness, Eric Gerets’ side played really well against Tunisia and created a host of clear-cut chances, but managed to realize just one of them, whereas two defensive mistakes gifted the win to their opponents. Morocco have got to regroup now and try to beat Gabon or else they would be eliminated from the tournament. That shouldn’t be such a difficult task as Morocco are superior to their opponents in every aspect of the game, in which case home field advantage shouldn’t play a big part. The Atlas Lions have some selection problems, but it looks as though Eric Gerets would be able to field his strongest line-up after all.

Marouane Chamakh, Oussama Assaidi, Michael Basser and Mehdi Benatia should all be fit to play despite sitting out the training session on Wednesday.

Verdict

Gabon did manage to record a convincing win in their opening game, but the victory over one of the weakest sides at the tournament should not be overestimated. Morocco, on the other side, played well against Tunisia and I expect them to produce another strong performance and win this game.

Our prediction: Morocco Draw No Bet

Odds: 1.88 (8/9)

Bookmaker: Betfair