Ghana will be keen to start the tournament on a high as they chase their first trophy since 1982, with Uganda back after a lengthy absence.

it will be dejavu from the 1978 finals in Accra where the two last met at Afcon. For Uganda it’s taken them almost four decades to return to the big dance, while the other team Ghana, has been an ever present danger to the rest of Africa. So it is ironical, especially for Uganda, that the Black Stars will once again be their opponents in Gabon. Place your bet with the champions on NaijaBet.com

Ghana are one of the tournament’s most decorated nations, with only Egypt having bettered their tally of four AFCON triumphs.

Team News

Ghana – hosted and won the Cup of Nations in 1963 and 1978 and also triumphed in 1965 in Tunisia and 1982 in Libya. Uganda came closest to glory in 1978 by finishing runners-up.

The Black Stars of Ghana are ranked ninth in Africa and 54th in the world.

Gyan is still missing a major trophy to cap his international career, however the 31-year-old is not only his country’s most-capped player, but also leads the Black Stars’ all-time goalscoring charts.

Uganda – Experienced attacker Geofrey Massa might remain Uganda’s biggest name in attack, but there is no denying Miya is the man to watch for the future.

They had to settle for second spot in their qualification section behind Burkina Faso, but pipped Botswana and Comoros to second place and booked their ticket for the finals in Gabon as one of the two best runners-up.

This is the first AFCON for Uganda manager Milutin Sredojevic

Matct Facts

This is Ghana’s 21st AFCON participation, a tally only bettered by Egypt (23) and Ivory Coast (22).

Ghana are the only team to have reached the semi-finals in each of the last five AFCON tournaments.

Uganda have lost 12 of their 16 AFCON games,winning three, draw one and lost one in their last five games.

Andre Ayew scored three goals and delivered two assists in six games at the 2015 AFCON, the joint-highest goal involvement alongside Wilfried Bony.

Uganda last qualified for the AFCON in 1978, when they were beaten 2-0 in the final by Ghana.

NaijaBet Odds

As at this post Ghana has 1.72 odd to win the match on NaijaBet while Uganda has 5.79 odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 3.19.

When four-time champions are playing they normally, as in this case, get the nod. Burkina Faso and Cameroon will go head to head in the second match of the tournament.Cameroon have underachieved of late and haven’t won the tournament since 2002 in Mali.

A new generation full of youngsters and a sprinkle of experienced legs will look to put the ghosts of years past to rest. Burkina Faso were in the final in 2013 but lost the trophy to Nigeria in a pulsating final where a Sunday Mba solitary strike made the difference between the two sides.

Team News

Cameroon –  was hit with a spate of withdrawals before the final 23-man list was submitted to Caf. Seven players on the initial 35-man provisional squad pulled out citing different reasons. Place your Naijabet.com

Liverpool defender Joel Matip, West Brom’s Nyom, Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Andre Onana, Andre Zambo Anguissa from Olympique Marseille, Guy Roland NdyAssembe of Nancy, Maxime Poundje of Bordeaux and Ibrahim Amadou from Lille all withdrew from the team.

Both sides will want to put FA Cup exits behind them – Reading had won nine of their last 11 league games before losing to Manchester United at the weekend.

QPR were beaten at home by Blackburn in the Cup but are looking for their third league win in a row after victories against Wolves and Ipswich.

However, Ian Holloway is in the middle of a rebuild of his squad and, despite a few injuries, the Royals would be expected to prevail.

Team News

Reading – Captain Paul McShane, who missed the FA Cup defeat at Manchester United, is again ruled out with a wrist injury, though he is back in training. Naija and Bet

Winger Callum Harriott is expected to miss the next four to six weeks with a hamstring injury, while goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola and midfielder Stephen Quinn and striker Deniss Rakels are all sidelined.