Africa Cup of Nations: Gabon v Niger Odds and Betting Preview

LIBREVILLE, GABON - Co-hosts Gabon begin their Africa Cup of Nations quest with a winnable match at Libreville this evening against minnows Niger.

Gabon are best-priced at 8/13 with Stan James and Coral to win the match and take an immediate lead in Group C, before Morocco and Tunisia square-off later tonight. A draw can be backed at 14/5 with BetVictor, whilst an unlikely win for Niger is on offer at 11/2 with Irish firm Paddy Power.

The Panthers qualified for the tournament as the co-hosts, and despite not having a brilliant record in the Africa Cup of Nations, several pundits believe that Gernot Rohr’s Gabon side can be the surprise package in 2012. Home advantage in the tournament is always a considerable benefit, as Egypt made the most of it to beat Ivory Coast in a penalty shoot-out to land the trophy in 2006. Gabon’s recent form is hardly special, but neither was Zambia’s before the upset Senegal two nights ago. Gabon played with plenty of guts and determination to keep Brazil to just 2-0 when the two sides met in a friendly last November. The Panthers have plenty of fire-power available in attack, which includes ex-Rangers striker Daniel Cousin and top Saint Etienne prospect Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Niger look doomed in Group C, which on paper must be one of the most competitive ones. Mena did brilliantly to qualify for the tournament from a group that includes the ‘big guns’ Egypt and South Africa, and scraped through via a favourable head-to-head record. Their best player is Moussa Maazou who still belongs to CSKA Moscow, but has featured in France with Bordeaux and Monaco. Nevertheless, Mena are going to have a tough time trying to beat Gabon in from of a fervent crowd at the Stade d’Angondjé this evening.

The preferred scoreline in the correct score betting is 1-0 to Gabon, which has been very heavily backed by punters in the past few hours., and was the score when the two sides met each other in Nice last September. Paddy Power are 4/1 from 9/2, whilst totesport also go 4/1 having gone 5/1, but there is still some 5/1 left with Ladbrokes on a slim victory for the co-hosts. 2-0 has also been nibbled at, and bet365 go 5/1 from 6/1 and will also refund losing stakes if the match finishes goal-less. 3-0 to Gabon remains at 12/1 with 188bet, and a 1-1 draw is best-priced at 15/2 with high-street bookmaker Coral. A 1-0 shock win for Niger can be backed at 12/1 with Paddy Power.

The first goalscorer betting is headed by Daniel Cousin, who has to be respected at 5/1 with Ladbrokes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be eager to make a name for himself at 6/1 with bwin and Sky Bet and Niger’s Maazou is 10/1 with Betfred to answer all his French critics in style and score the first goal of the group. Punters looking for an upset will be hoping that Roland Courbis can inspire Maazou to great things, but his strike partner Daouda is on offer at 12/1 with Paddy Power. Another Gabon player to keep an eye on is Nice’s Eric Mouloungui, who is 7/1 with Sky Bet to net first.

In other markets, Gabon/Gabon is tempting at 8/5 with William Hill in the half-time/full-time betting, and Cousin is a stand-out 10/1 with Paddy Power to score two or more goals in the game, which has not been achieved at the tournament thus far.

The match kicks-off at 5.00pm local time on Monday 23 January, which is 4.00pm in the UK. Punters can watch it live on British Eurosport.   Gabon v Niger Match Odds Gabon v Niger Correct Score Odds Gabon v Niger First Goalscorer Odds