After a 3-1 home victory over Zimbabwe on Friday, Ghana will travel for the reverse fixture in World Cup 2022 Qualifying action on Tuesday.
The Black Stars moved onto six points from three games with their win last time out, while the defeat meant Zimbabwe remain on just one point in the group.
Match preview
© Reuters
Zimbabwe kicked off the qualifying campaign with an impressive point, as they held heavily-fancied South Africa to a goalless draw on home turf in September.
They would quickly fall to a defeat though, as their clash away at Ethiopia, which looked set to end goalless, was settled by a 94th-minute penalty for the hosts converted by Aschalew Tamene.
The Warriors were handed a second straight loss last time out, as their trip to Ghana resulted in a 3-1 defeat, despite Knowledge Musona drawing them level early in the second half.
Zdravko Logarusic's side now head into Tuesday with the chance to exact revenge on Ghana, with the need to reverse their fortunes if they are to keep their hopes of qualifying for next year's tournament.
© Reuters
Ghana began the group campaign in September with a narrow 1-0 win over Ethiopia, as Mubarak Wakaso netted the only goal of the game after the half-hour mark.
Milovan Rajevac's side were then on the wrong end of a crucial clash away at South Africa, with Bongokuhle Hlongwane firing the hosts to a 1-0 victory to take top spot in the group.
The Black Stars made a return to winning ways last time out, as they played host to Zimbabwe.
Mohammed Kudus instantly put them ahead, and, after Musona drew the visitors level, Thomas Partey restored his nation's lead and Andre Ayew put the game out of sight with a third goal in the 87th minute.
With only one side qualifying for next year's World Cup from each group, Ghana will look to ensure they remain hot on the heels of group leaders South Africa, who sit a point ahead, and they will be desperate to make it back-to-back wins on Tuesday.
- D
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Knowledge Musona will keep his place as a crucial part of the Zimbabwe team on Tuesday, after he netted the equaliser against Ghana last time out.
Jordan Zemura has impressed since breaking into the Bournemouth first-team squad this season, and he should keep his place at the back.
Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is one of the key men to watch for the Warriors, while Tendayi Darikwa also brings plenty of experience.
Ghana boast a squad filled with experienced talent, including captain Andre Ayew, who has netted 20 international goals.
Jordan Ayew should continue to lead the line, as he looks to break a drought on the international stage.
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is arguably the key man in the squad, and he will be crucial in the battle in the centre.
Zimbabwe possible starting lineup:
Arubi; Zemura, Darikwa, Bhasera; Musona, Nakamba, Kamusoko, Madzongwe, Chikwende; Mutizwa, Munetsi
Ghana possible starting lineup:
Wollacott; Amartey, Djiku, Mensah, Rahman; Baba, Partey; Yaw, Kudus, A Ayew; J Ayew
We say: Zimbabwe 0-3 Ghana
We do not see the change of home advantage having a noticeable effect on the scoreline on Tuesday and instead predict a similar scoreline between these two sides.
Ghana comfortably boast a stronger squad than their hosts, and they will be determined to apply pressure on South Africa with another dominant victory.
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 Zimbabwe win with a probability of 38.67%. A win for Ghana had a probability of 32.05% and a draw had a probability of 29.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Zimbabwe win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.71%) and 2-0 (7.56%). The likeliest Ghana win was 0-1 (11.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.39%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 11.6% likelihood.
