Preview: Ethiopia vs. Ghana - prediction, team news, lineups

Having seen their chances of reaching the 2022 FIFA World Cup disappear into thin air, Ethiopia welcome Ghana to the Orlando Stadium on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ghana go in search of a third consecutive win in order to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Match preview

Ghana claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in matchday four of the World Cup qualifiers on October 12.

A 31st-minute strike from Thomas Partey was enough to get the job done for Milovan Rajevac's at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

Consequently, the Black Stars remain second in Group G, a point behind South Africa with two games left to play.

Awaiting the west Africans next is the challenge of an opposing side who have lost each of the five previous meetings between the teams by a combined score of 11-0.

With a crunch clash against the group leaders to follow, Thursday's visitors will be keen to remain within touching distance ahead of what is set to be an enthralling finale.

Ethiopia were narrowly beaten 1-0 by South Africa when the sides faced off at the First National Bank Stadium on October 12.

Getaneh Kebede's first-half own goal was enough to settle what was otherwise a nervy and cagey contest in Johannesburg.

That defeat sees Wubetu Abate's men trail their most recent opponents by seven points, which is an unassailable lead with just two games remaining.

However, the Walias will be looking to put on a show in front of their home fans before jetting out to face Zimbabwe on Sunday.

Team News

Andre Ayew is in line to win his 99th cap, and the 31-year-old is closing in on becoming just the second player in history to reach a century of appearances for Ghana.

Thomas Partey missed Arsenal's win over Watford due to a slight injury but has been deemed fit enough to be named in Rajevac's latest squad.

After finding the back of the wrong net last time out, forward Getaneh Kebede will be looking to redeem himself with an impressive performance in this one.

Kebede, who is the hosts' all-time leading goalscorer, is also seven games away from becoming his nation's most-capped player of all time.

Ethiopia possible starting lineup:
F. Gebremichael; Yesuf, Tamene, Baye, Hamid; Dagnechew, Yohannes, Mohammed; Nassir, Kebede, A. Gebremichael

Ghana possible starting lineup:
Wollacott; Baba, Djiku, Mensah, Amartey; Mohammed, Partey, Kudus; Sulemana, Tetteh, Ayew

We say: Ethiopia 0-2 Ghana

Ghana know that any dropped points here could spell the end of their World Cup dream, so we expect them to be fully up for this. We fancy them to come out on top in a relatively comfortable manner.

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