Round three of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers pits Burkina Faso against Burundi at Stade du 4 Aout on Thursday evening.
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The teams head into this one off the back of mixed fortunes, as the hosts ran out convincing winners over Malawi last time out, while their visitors fell to a narrow defeat against Senegal.
Match preview
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Buoyed by their last-gasp draw against Senegal four days earlier, Burkina Faso recorded their most impressive result of 2024 thanks to a 3-1 triumph at the expense of Malawi on September 10.
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Making his first international start since June, Lassina Traore netted a first-half double to put Brahima Traore‘s men in the driving seat before Hassane Bande put the result beyond doubt with a penalty right on the hour mark.
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That was Traore’s first managerial win in charge since taking over from Hubert Velud after a disappointing AFCON campaign where Les Etalons suffered a last-16 exit to Mali.
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Already with some catching up to do in their World Cup qualifying group, Burkina Faso will be keen to take a giant step towards making it through to next year’s continental showpiece in their upcoming outing.
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In the first of a crunch double-header against Burundi three days apart, Thursday’s hosts know a win would leave them on the verge of getting the job done and will be expected to go full guns blazing.
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Burundi had nothing to show for a highly spirited display against Senegal as they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat on September 9 at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
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Ismaila Sarr came up with the decisive moment 19 minutes shy of full time as he held his nerve from 12 yards to snap a four-game unbeaten run for Etienne Ndayiragije‘s men.
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It was also Les Hirondelles’ first competitive loss since the turn of the year, with prior defeats against Algeria and Madagascar coming in January’s friendly encounters.
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After going over two years without winning an away game, Thursday’s visitors make the journey to Ouagadougou in search of a third straight victory on enemy territory to get their AFCON qualifying campaign back on track.
Burkina Faso Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:
Burkina Faso form (all competitions):
Burundi Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:
Burundi form (all competitions):
Team News
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Despite managing just one goal in 10 matches at club level this term, Lassina Traore is on course to lead the line for Burkina Faso with a supporting cast of Hassane Bande and Bertrand Traore.
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Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara is also in contention after recently opening his account for the season against Southampton.
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Mohamed Konate endured a disappointing outing for the home side last time out having had to come off with an injury scare less than 10 minutes into his second-half cameo.
Burundi’s Bienvenue Kanakimana was on target on his return to action for Jablonec over the weekend and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
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Thirty-four-year-old Shabani Hussein was dropped to the bench for his side’s defeat to Senegal but should be back to feature up front in this one.
Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:
Koffi; Ouedraogo, Tapsoba, Djiga, Kabore; Simpore, Badolo, Banse; Bande, L Traore, B Traore
Burundi possible starting lineup:
Nkurunziza, Musore, Nsabiyumva, Ndayishimiye, Muderi; Kanakimana, Eldinho, Msanga, Bigirimana, Liongola; Hussein
Burundi have taken some huge scalps on the road of late and have every reason to believe they can emerge victorious here.
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That said, we can see the home side coming out on top in what should be a tight affair.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.