AFCON 2021: How to watch Burkina Faso vs Senegal live on February 2

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, AFCON 2021, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Sadio Mane

A spot in the final is at stake with a tournament favorite and one of the dark horses set to battle it out.

The story so far

Burkina Faso and Senegal will lock horns at Stade Omnisport de Douala in search of a ticket to the final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations. The clash will see the former, being one of the continent's biggest overachievers in recent years, try to match the prowess of a generation of Teranga Lions touted as one of the greatest underachievers. For the former, it has been yet another remarkable spell in a tournament where they were barely given the chance to make it past the Round of 16 stage.

The Stallions began their steady spell with a second-place finish behind Cameroon in Group A by beating Cape Verde after losing to the hosts before drawing with Ethiopia in the final group game. In the Round of 16, they stood their grounds to eliminate Gabon via penalty shootout before stunning Tunisia in the quarter-final with a 1-0 win.

On Wednesday, they will head into the clash with Senegal with just one defeat in their last 11 outings in all competitions. In that, they remain unbeaten in the last four and have successfully registered a goal in each if these games. With the disappointment against Nigeria in the 2013 final still fresh in mind, Burkina Faso will try to do enough in a bid to get the opportunity to right their wrongs in another final.

Nevertheless, the task will be all but straightforward with the opponent they face also coming into the encounter with similar aspirations. The last edition of the AFCON held in Egypt ended with Senegal being denied their first-ever title after suffering a gruesome 1-0 defeat at the hands of Algeria. In the current campaign, they have done enough to position themselves for yet another final appearance although they are yet to take the tournament by storm.

The Teranga Lions finished the group phase as winners of Group B, having registered five points after beating Zimbabwe and drawing with Guinea and Malawi respectively. They were then set up for a Round of 16 clash with Cape Verde where they managed a 2-0 win to book a date with Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-final. The upcoming date with Burkina Faso was subsequently fixed after they managed a 3-1 victory over the National Thunder.

Up until their last outing, Aliou Cisse's men had not conceded a single goal at the 2021 AFCON and they will hope to build on that in the upcoming meeting with Burkina Faso. On paper, their chances of progressing at the expense of the latter looks good as they are unbeaten in the last four meetings. As to whether they can extend the run to five remains to be seen.

Match facts

This will be the third Africa Cup of Nations meeting between Burkina Faso and Senegal, and the first in the knockout stages, with Senegal having won both of their previous group stage meetings (W1 D1).
Burkina Faso will play in their fourth Africa Cup of Nations semi-final, having been ousted in two of their previous three — the last time they advanced to the final was in 2013. (3-2 on penalties against Ghana).
Senegal have won five of their previous six Africa Cup of Nations knockout matches, maintaining four clean sheets and conceding only twice — their lone loss coming in the 2019 final against Algeria (1-0).
Senegal could reach the Africa Cup of Nations final for the third time - no team has ever reached three finals without winning – and the Lions of Teranga could become the first team to reach three finals in a row since Egypt in 2010.

Predicted starting XI

Burkina Faso: Koffi; Kabore, Tapsoba, Ouattara, Yago; Nikiema, Guira, Sangare; Bande, Ouattara, Traore
Senegal: E Mendy; Sarr, Koulibaly, A Diallo, Ciss; Kayoute, N Mendy, I Gueye; Diedhiou, Dia, Mane.