Preview: Benin vs. Tanzania - prediction, team news, lineups

In the second of their two consecutive meetings, Benin welcome Tanzania to the Stade de l'Amitie in Group J of the World Cup qualifiers on Sunday.

The visitors will head into the game seeking to get one over the hosts after falling to a 1-0 loss when they squared off in Dar es Salaam on Thursday.

Match preview

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Benin kicked off their pursuit of a maiden appearance at the World Cup on September 2, when they claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Madagascar before forcing a share of the spoils versus a superior Congo DR side four days later.

Michel Dussuyer's side maintained their impressive string of results in their subsequent outing as they claimed a 1-0 victory over a dogged Tanzania side last Thursday.

In a cagey affair at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Stade Brestois forward Steve Mounie came up trumps for the Squirrels as he struck the only goal of the game in the 71st minute.

Prior to that, Tanzania were on a run of four consecutive games without a defeat, claiming three wins and one draw since a 1-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers back in March.

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Sunday's visitors progressed into the second qualifying round by the skin of their teeth as they beat Burundi on penalties following a 2-2 aggregate draw.

Kim Poulsen's men kicked off their group stage run on a solid note as they held group favourites Congo DR to a 1-1 draw at the Stade TP Mazembe before claiming a thrilling 3-2 win over Madagascar five days later.

In that encounter, Tanzania raced to a two-goal lead inside the the first 26 minutes through Erasto Nyoni and Novatus Dismas, but after Njiva Rakotoharimalala and Thomas Fontaine forced a 2-2 draw heading into the break, Young Africans' midfielder Feisal Salum scored the winner seven minutes into the second half.

However, they suffered a blow to their qualification chances in their subsequent outing as they were sent crashing down to earth by Benin last Thursday.

While the Taifa Stars will look to get their campaign back on track, they go up against an opposing side who they have failed to beat in each of the last two meetings between the sides.

Team News

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Following an injury-free encounter in Thursday's reverse fixture, Dussuyer could name an unchanged starting XI this weekend, meaning we could see Mounie operate as a lone forward behind a four-man midfield.

Mickael Pote, who is currently fourth on the nation's all-time scoring chart, could return to the XI having impressed off the bench in the aforementioned game.

Tanzania, on the other hand, will take to the pitch without the defensive duo of Bakari Mwamnyeto and Shomari Kapombe, who are both recuperating from injuries.

Simba defender Erasto Nyoni pulled out of the squad due to personal reasons and in his absence, we could see either Mohamed Husseini or Dickson Job start at the heart of the defence.

Benin possible starting lineup:
Allagbe; Kiki, Hountondji, Adenon, Verdon, Assogba; Adeoti, Dossou, Azankpo, Gomez; Mounie

Tanzania possible starting lineup:
Manula, Mwenda, Mwenda, Husseini, Kibabage, Yahya, Salum, Lyanga, Samatta, Bocco, Msuva

We say: Benin 1-1 Tanzania

Tanzania will be kicking themselves following the defeat last time out as they put on an impressive defensive display before Mounie struck the winner in the 71st minute. We anticipate Sunday's game will end in a stalemate as the Taifa Stars could take a defensive approach to avoid dropping more points.