Mali v Tunisia Betting Tips [25 March 2022]

Mali claimed their third win in six matches against Tunisia at AFCON 2021 and they will be gunning for another when they host the Northern African nation in the first leg of the 2022 World Cup qualifier on Friday. Going into this game, the hosts are the form team, having avoided defeat in regular time in their last 10 matches. They have done well in defence, keeping nine clean sheets in those 10 matches. They also have a good run defensively in World Cup qualification, having kept nine straight clean sheets there, though seven of the last 10 have produced under 2.5 goals. One loss in 18 home matches in World Cup qualifiers definitely will give Mali the confidence they need here but they may need to improve in attack. In the last six home matches in World Cup qualification, they have scored more than a goal in just one game.

Tunisia lost 1-0 to Mali at the 2021 AFCON, another of their meetings that produced under 2.5 goals. Four of their last six meetings have failed to hit over 2.5 goals. If recent runs were to be considered, Tunisia go into this game as underdogs, having lost three of their last five matches and failed to score in four of their last six. The low scoring nature of their matches sees eight of their last 10 games return under 2.5 goals, and they have scored more than a goal in just two of 10. In their six meetings with Mali in history, Tunisia have managed just two wins and lost three – the two wins came from friendly matches. While they have a better run in World Cup qualification, winning six of the last 10, these too have had their fair share of low scores. They have failed to score completely in two of the last three matches while their last three away from home have ended in under 2.5 goals.

Mali have a better run than Tunisia heading to this game, and playing at home, they will feel they can win this. They’ve done well against Tunisia too but both sides’ matches have been dominated by low scoring runs. It is highly unlikely that these teams will want to play an open game so under 2.5 goals can pass.