Liberia and Central African Republic face off at Stade de la Reunification on Monday in the second round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Central African Republic are third in Group C after the first round of matches thanks to their point against Cape Verde, while Liberia lost to Nigeria in their opener.
Match preview
Only one team will progress to the third round of qualifying, so already Liberia are playing catch up as they prepare for this showdown with the Wild Beasts.
Peter Butler's men have never previously qualified for the World Cup and have only competed in the Africa Cup of Nations on two occasions, most recently in 2002.
After beating neighbours Sierra Leone 3-2 in the first round of qualifying, however, the Lone Star still have a chance of ending their long wait for tournament football.
If that is to happen, Liberia need to quickly move on from Friday's 2-0 loss to Nigeria, with a couple of first-half goals from Kelechi Iheanacho proving the difference.
Butler's side have now lost five of their last six games overall, failing to score in four of those matches.
Central African Republic enter this contest winless in eight, meanwhile, though they did end a three-game losing streak without scoring in their most recent match.
Tresor Toropite struck to cancel out Julio Tavares's opener and earn the Wild Beasts a 1-1 draw against Cape Verde.
With a couple of games against group favourites Nigeria still to come, Raoul Savoy's charges could do with getting three more points on the board in Monday's contest.
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Team News
Hatayspor's Mohammed Kamara and Slavia Prague midfielder Oscar Dorley are two notable names in the Liberia squad, both of whom featured in the defeat to Nigeria.
Kamara was only used as a substitute in that 2-0 loss and has reportedly left the Liberia camp in anger, meaning his availability for this game is unknown.
Butler, who recently extended his contract to remain in charge until at least August 22, also has Prince Balde and Ayouba Kosiah available for selection.
As for Central African Republic, Savoy may well look to keep changes to a minimum after picking up a point against Cape Verde.
Paris FC forward Arnaud Tattevin was brought on as a half-time substitute in place of Henock Kpeko last time out and may get the nod from the first whistle here.
Liberia possible starting lineup:
Songo, Jerbo, Saygbe, Dweh, Paye, Bah, Njie, Macauley, Dorley, Sherman, Wilson
Central African Republic possible starting lineup:
Guinari, Ngam-Ngam, Ndobe, M'Vondo Ze, Ndokomandji, Niamathe, Samolah, Toropite, Urie, Yangao, Tattevin
We say: Liberia 1-1 Central African Republic
Liberia have struggled for goals and wins over the past two years, but this match with Central African Republic provides a good chance to build some confidence.
The Wild Beasts are ranked slightly higher in the FIFA rankings than their opponents, though, and after claiming a point versus Cape Verde last time out, we can see them doing likewise here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Central African Republic win with a probability of 49.5%. A win for Liberia had a probability of 26.71% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Central African Republic win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.28%) and 2-0 (7.97%). The likeliest Liberia win was 1-2 (6.69%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 6.5% likelihood.
