Senegal were the first team to book their Africa Cup of Nations 2017 quarterfinals spot after beating Zimbabwe in their last encounter. Senegal, who are one of the title favourites, will hope to finish the group stages with a bang as they face Algeria on Monday.
Read: Gabon crashes out of Afcon 2017
Algeria, on the other hand, have been poor, losing to Tunisia in their last match. They had drawn to Zimbabwe earlier as well. As a result, Algeria are in all sorts of problems in their last group encounter against Senegal, where even a victory will not assure them of a quarterfinals berth. They will also need the other match between Zimbabwe and Tunisia to go in their favour to help them progress in the competition.
Algeria are helpless when it comes to the other fixture, so, they should just concentrate in their match against Senegal, who are going to be a tough nut to crack. Senegal have not lost a single game in Afcon 2017, and with players like Sadio Mane, they are always going to be a huge threat.
With Senegal already having booked their slot, it remains to be seen if they will rest some of their key players to keep them fresh for the round of 16, where they will face Cameroon. Senegal have played some positive football, and have produced positive results with their players shining in Afcon 2017.
Algeria will be pleased if they rest their star players, which will give them a chance to emerge victorious. Even then, Algeria players have to respond to the challenge, and their big guns including Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani have to shoulder responsibility. The Leicester City duo will play an important role on Monday.
Besides their offensive players, the defence needs to step it up in the all-important game. They have conceded four goals in two matches. Algeria coach Georges Leekens has warned his team to not let in easy goals, which could be disastrous.
"Senegal play good football and, in an ideal world, we would have qualified before facing them. To be frank, this is going to be a very tough match for us to win. We dare not give away soft goals like we did against Tunisia. Unfortunately, we no longer have our destiny in our own hands," BBC quoted Leekens as saying.
Where to watch live
Senegal vs Algeria Afcon 2017 match is scheduled for a 12:30am IST (7:00pm GMT, 2:00pm ET) start. Live Streaming and TV information:
India: TV: No live coverage.
Africa: TV: SuperSport6 Africa. Live Streaming: SuperSport live video.
UK: TV: EuroSport 1 UK. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.
Australia, Canada, US: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
