Morocco arrive to this tournament as one of the main candidates for the trophy but their opening game against Tunisia will be everything but a walk in the park.

After failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the Atlas Lions appointed former Marseille coach Eric Gerets and the national team have been on the uptrend ever since.

Morocco did well to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, beating Central African Republic, Algeria and Tanzania to the first place in the group, while they also did well in friendly games in between the competitive matches.

Boasting a star-studded squad with the likes of Mehdi Benatia, Houcine Kharja, Adel Taarabt and Marouane Chamakh, the Atlas Lions are seen as one of the main favourites for the trophy and they are 10.50 (19/2) with 888sport to lift the coveted title.

Morocco are also considered favourites in the clash with Tunisia, with bet365 paying 2.50 (3/2) on home win.

Keeper Nadir Lamyaghri has recovered from a shoulder injury and is expected to start this game, whereas Eric Gerets has no fresh injury worries.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Lamyaghri – Chretien, Benatia, El Kaoutari, El Kaddouri – Kharja, Belhanda, Boussoufa – Assaidi, Chamakh, Hadji.

Tunisia were far from impressive in the AFCON qualifiers, having finished the campaign in second place behind Botswana, but they qualified as one of the best second-placed sides.

They would have missed out on their place at the tournament finals if Chad hadn’t scored a late, late equalizer to deny Malawi the second place in the group, so the Carthage Eagles were very lucky to be where they are at the moment.

Tunisia have since had mixed success in the warm-up games, beating Sudan 3:0 and losing to Algeria and Ivory Coast, so they don’t have much reason for optimism before the clash with Morocco.

The Carthage Eagles haven’t had a lot of success at Africa Cup of Nations since winning the title in 2004, so the odds of 3.20 (11/5) offered by Stan James on away win do not represent a good value.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Mathlouthi – Ifa, Abdennour, Hagui, Jemmal – Chikhaoui, Chedli, Traoui – Darragi, Jemaa, Allagui.