The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners were beaten by two goals to nil by Chile in their opening encounter, which leaves them in need of a triumph at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. It was a disappointing outcome for Cameroon, who had been level in the game until Arturo Vidal gave his side the lead in the 81st minute, but Hugo Broos will know that his team are still in with a chance of progressing to the knockout rounds if they secure a positive result against Australia. While that will not be a completely straightforward task, the Indomitable Lions will fancy their chances of coming out on top.
World champions Germany eased to victory against Australia last time out, with the latter second best for the vast majority of the match; indeed, even Tom Rogic’s equaliser in the 41st minute came against the run of play. It was a rather flat performance from Ange Postecoglou’s men at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, with the 2015 Asia Cup champions at times struggling to prevent Germany cutting through them in open play. An improvement on both sides of the ball will be necessary if Australia are to defeat Cameroon here, but they will still be hopeful of keeping their qualification chances alive until matchday three.
Cameroon lined up in a 4-3-3 formation in their loss to Chile and will probably stick with the same shape on Thursday. Christian Bassogog and Benjamin Moukandjo will provide support for Vincent Aboubakar at the top of the pitch, while Georges Mandjeck could come into the midfield alongside Sebastien Siani and Arnaud Djum. At the back, centre-halves Adolphe Teikeu and Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui will look to make life difficult for their attacking opponents.
Australia took to the field in a 3-4-2-1 configuration last time out, although Postecoglou may be considering a slight tweak given how open his team were for much of their defeat by Germany. Aaron Mooy and Rogic will be important figures in support of striker Tomi Juric regardless of the formation employed, while Mark Milligan will again fulfil the Mile Jedinak role – the captain is injured – at the back of midfield.
Taking everything into account, it could be worth putting some money on this one finishing with the scores level. Cameroon and Australia are comfortably the third and fourth best teams in Group B – although it remains to be seen in which order – and this match could determine which of the two will go closest to challenging Chile and Germany for a place in the semi-finals. A draw would be of little use to either, but it still looks like the most likely outcome on Thursday night, when both teams will probably find the back of the net. In the anytime goalscorer market, meanwhile, consider placing a wager on Rogic to hit the target for the second game in a row.
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