Egypt vs Angola — Tips & Analysis

Angola +1.5: Egypt win games, but they win them small. They have won by 2 or more goals in only 2 of their last 15 games, and they have tied 7 of those 15. At home they score more than a goal a game and no more than that. They are also missing players through the spine. Midfielder Hamdy Fathy, Yasser Ibrahim and forward Mahmoud Trezeguet are all out, which leaves Mohamed Salah as the one player Egypt can really trust for a goal. Angola are a hard side to break down. They let in under a goal a game and they have tied four of their last five. They have lost by 2 or more goals only 2 times in their last 15 games, so heavy defeats are not their pattern. These two met last December at the Africa Cup of Nations and finished 0-0, and their last three meetings averaged under 2 goals with two ties. Cairo should get another slow night. We read this 1-0 to Egypt, with Salah finding one goal and the hosts then protecting it, and Angola stay inside their head start. The worry is rust. Angola have not played a competitive game in 270 days and their coach only took the job in April. A loud Cairo crowd and an early goal could make this a longer evening than we want. We are still taking Angola with the start.