Preview: Ghana vs Zimbabwe – prediction, team news, lineups

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Milovan Rajevac will have his second debut as Ghana manager when his side welcomes Zimbabwe to the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Saturday.

Both teams come on the back of slender defeats and will seek to bounce back from their respective slumps.

The home side suffered a 1-0 loss against South Africa on September 6, while the visitors were beaten 1-0 by Ethiopia the following day.

Match preview

Off the back of an opening-day victory over Ethiopia, Ghana had the opportunity against South Africa to open up an advantage at the top of Group G which they failed to utilize.

The contest was level as the game entered into its final stages only for Bongokuhle Hlongwane to sink Charles Akonnor’s men in Johannesburg with an 83rd-minute strike.

That defeat was the final nail in Akonnor’s coffin as the Black Stars fell one point behind the Bafana Bafana in what is set to be a frenetic battle for a place in Qatar next year.

The West Africans now seek an immediate response against a Zimbabwe side that has lost three of the last six meetings between the teams.

Saturday’s hosts, who are unbeaten in their last six matches in a home game since a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Mali in 2020, will be confident of coming away with all three points in this one.

Rajevac’s men are full of confidence after thrashing lower-tier side Soccer Intellectuals 8-0 in a warm-up game.

Zimbabwe gave a good account of themselves in their meeting with Ethiopia, which was decided right at the death thanks to a penalty from Aschalew Tamene.

After the game, head coach Zdravko Logarusic was sacked as the Warriors remained winless in the qualifiers.

Zimbabwe, who were unlucky not to have come out on top against South Africa in the opening round, were left cursing their luck once again against Ethiopia.