Senegal vs Nigeria Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | African Nations Championship

• Tournament: African Nations Championship 2025
• Date: Tuesday, 5 August 2025
• Kick-Off Time: 5 PM GMT
• Venue: Amaan Stadium, Zanzibar City

Senegal start their defence of the CAF African Nations Championship title when they face off against Nigeria in what should be an entertaining opening game in Group D on Tuesday night. The Senegal vs Nigeria clash will take place at the Amaan Stadium, where both teams will be eager for a win to kick off their group stage campaign on a positive note. Here is our Senegal vs Nigeria preview.

Senegal are under some pressure heading into this tournament as the defending champions, meaning they'll need to perform at a very high level to retain the title. They are currently ranked in 18th place in the FIFA World Rankings, and are unbeaten in international football since March 2024.

Souleymane Diallo will be eager to ensure that his side can maintain this dominant form and play some incisive attacking football in the upcoming game. He will need to be respectful of Nigeria's attacking threat and maintain a strong defensive nature, but will mostly focus on implementing an entertaining attacking playing style to help his side get a big win.

Nigeria are also unbeaten in their matches in 2025 so far, despite only having won two of their last five games. They have played out three draws in their last four matches, conceding five goals in the process and struggling to play their best attacking football.

Eric Chelle needs to fix some of the lingering issues within his squad and help bring stability to their performances. He needs his side to maintain a much more stubborn and concrete defensive shape to frustrate Senegal and have a chance of winning. To do so, he'll also need his players to be at their clinical best in finishing chances and taking their opportunities perfectly to get three valuable points. Let's look at Sportsdunia's Senegal vs Nigeria preview for the upcoming African Nations Championship clash.

Senegal Men's National Football Team News

Souleymane Diallo has selected a strong Senegal squad for the African Nations Championship. This includes a host of impressive talents from the local Senegalese leagues, with this tournament being created to give a limelight to talented local footballers.

Nigeria Men's National Football Team News

Eric Chelle has also been able to select a number of talented Nigerian players from the country's local divisions. There are no injury or suspension issues to be plaguing his side for the time being.

Senegal vs Nigeria Predicted Lineups

Here are our Senegal vs Nigeria Predicted Lineups:

Senegal Men's National Football Team Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Idrissa Ndiaye (GK), Senyi Ndiaye (GK), Amadou Coly, Layousse Samb, Daouda Ba, Baye Asasne Ciss, Moussa Cisse, Bonaventure Fonseca, Libasse Gueye, Christian Gomis, Oumar Ba

Nigeria Men's National Football Team Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Henry Ani (GK), Sodiq Ismaila, Bankole Afeez, Uzondu Harrison, Junior Nduka, Adedayo Olamilekan, Hadi Haruna, Michael Tochukwu, Shola Adelani, Sikiru Alimi, Anas Yusuf

Senegal vs Nigeria Head-to-Head Record

These two national teams have faced one another on 18 occasions in the past. Out of that, Nigeria have won seven games and Nigeria have won five times as well. In their last five meetings, Nigeria have won twice and Senegal have only won once.

Key Players to Watch in Senegal vs Nigeria

Oumar Ba (Senegal)

Oumar Ba will be among the most experienced players for Senegal at the African Nations Championship, having played for French clubs AS Moulins and Drancy in the past. He scored five goals in 25 games for Moulins and will look to use his expertise to trouble defenders.

Ba can be smart with his off-the-ball movement and use his physical prowess to trouble defenders. He will look to link up smart with his teammates to create innovative attacking moves, but will need to be at his ruthless best in the final third to open the tournament with multiple goals to show for himself.

Anas Yusuf (Nigeria)

21-year-old forward Anas Yusuf was a force to be reckoned with in the 2024/25 Nigerian Premier Football League campaign, being a ruthless figure for Nasarawa United. He scored 17 goals in the competition, winning the Golden Boot award for topping the scoring charts.

Yusuf will aim to bring that kind of prolific scoring nature to the African Nations Championship for Nigeria. He will need to be clever with his movement in the final third to disrupt the opposition backline. However, Yusuf will mostly be asked to get into the right positions in the final third and finish off chances decisively to help his side get a major result.

Senegal vs Nigeria Prediction

With both teams gunning for a win to open the 2025 African Nations Championship, this should be a pretty action-packed clash with a lot happening for the 90 minutes. Of course, Senegal are going to be pushing hard with some quick attacking football to make a statement of intent on their intentions of reclaiming their title, while Nigeria look to hit them with vicious counter-attacks to create big chances.

Even though there should be chances for both sides, Senegal have that extra bit of quality in their squad and the experience of excelling in this tournament. That should help them grind their way to a narrow win to start their title defence on a positive note. Here is our Senegal vs Nigeria Prediction.

Predicted Score: Senegal 2-1 Nigeria.

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