The crucial second round of matches in the Africa Cup of Nations   gets underway this week, and in Group C, we will see Senegal  face off against Cameroon at Charles Konan Banny Stadium on Friday.

This could easily end up being the pick of the matchday 2 fixtures, with the defending champions and five-time competition winners duking it out in a battle of Africa’s footballing heavyweights.

Senegal got their title defence off to the perfect start on Monday when they were far too good for the 10-man Gambia and cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win at this venue.

The Lions of Teranga took an early lead in the match through a Papa Gueye   strike inside the first five minutes, while Lamine Camara  netted twice in the second half after Ebou Adams   was shown a red card for a poor tackle on him.

At the age of 20 years and 14 days, Camara etched his name in history as the youngest player to score a brace at the AFCON since Ali Zitouni  achieved the feat for Tunisia in 2000 at the age of 19 years and 32 days.

While they certainly looked good going forward, that was arguably not the most impressive element of Aliou Cisse’s  team’s opening match. Former Chelsea duo Edouard Mendy  and Kalidou Koulibaly , along with Moussa Niakhate , were immense in the heart of Senegal’s defence and restricted their opponents to a meagre two shots on target, with neither really looking likely to trouble the net.

The Lions of Teranga are now unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions (W4 D1 L0) and have not conceded a single goal in over 450 minutes of play dating back to their 1-0 loss to Algeria in September.

That result sent out a clear message to the rest of the teams in this competition, and another win here will see the defending champions book their place in the last 16 and keep their dream of becoming only the fourth team to defend the title alive.

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Meanwhile, Cameroon got on the board with a 1-1 draw against dark horse Guinea, and most from a neutral perspective would likely agree that they were a tad fortunate to have taken anything from that encounter.

The National Elephants were the better side by some distance in the first half and looked as though they were on their way to a famous victory after taking the lead early in the game, but that hope quickly dimmed when Francois Kamano   was shown a red card in first-half stoppage time.

Toulouse attacker Frank Magri   got The Indomitable Lions back level before the hour-mark, but the 2017 champions never looked likely to go on to win the match and would have seen the point slip from their grasp had it not been for some excellent work from goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa  in the closing moments of the match.

Rigobert Song  also received some criticism for his tactical approach in the match, as his side commanded the lion’s share of possession but failed to create many clear-cut chances and lacked quality with their delivery into the box from wide areas.

Cameroon have now drawn each of their last three matches in all competitions and have only managed just two wins in their last 10 games, along with five draws and three losses, including a 1-0 defeat to this opponent back in mid-October.

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Senegal came out of their first match of the competition with no reported injuries, and based on their performance in the match, it would not be surprising if Cisse opted for an unchanged lineup in this one.

Camara currently leads the top goalscorer standings, having been the only player to score two goals in the first round of matches, which included what will likely be a contender for goal of the tournament.

Nicolas Jackson was brought on in the second half and spurned an excellent opportunity to open his account, while Marseille forward ILiman Ndiaye  looked sharp in his 15-minute cameo off the bench.

In search of a greater spark in attack, Cameroon will be hoping that their captain Vincent Aboubakar   will be able to return to the frontline after he sustained an injury in training a few days before their opening match.

After being flown in by private jet to the Ivory Coast just 24 hours before their opening match, Song opted to leave out goalkeeper Andre Onana  from the staring lineup against Guinea, but the Manchester United shot-stopper should take his place between the sticks on Friday.

Senegal possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Jakobs, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Diatta; Gueye, A Diallo, Camara; Mane, H Diallo, Sarr

Cameroon possible starting lineup:
Onana; Yongwa, Wooh, Moukoudi, Castelletto; Anguissa, Kemen, Ntcham; Koudou, Ekambi, Magri

Prediction : Senegal 1-0 Camero