Kenya vs Zimbabwe prediction

Kenya’s quest for qualification for the next edition of the AFCON tournament kicks off in earnest twhen they host Zimbabwe in the opening round of their Group J matches at Mandela Stadium on Friday, September 6th, in Uganda, before they travel to face Namibia on Tuesday, September 10th at Orlando Stadium in South Africa Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat (54) has been having a selection nightmare with several high profile players set to be unavailable for this opening match due to injury and other concerns. He has nevertheless called up some replacements on stand-by and set up a camp to get the team ready for the matches.

Zimbabwe Head Coach Michael Nees has unveiled a robust 23-man squad for this upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya. In the wake of a disappointing slate of results at the COSAFA tournament, the Warriors slumped to 129th position on the Fifa World Rankings (38th in Africa) which has seen them getting dropped to pot 4 which contains the 12 lowest-ranked sides. Coach Nees who is in charge of the rebuild project will be hoping for a solid start to try and turn their fortunes.

These two teams met in that COSAFA tournament at the start of July and although Zimbabwe showed some promising signs, their finishing was below par and they ended up losing 2-0. We expect another close contest here with both teams going for it. Given the stakes at play, we fancy an end-to-end contest but we are backing Kenya to just about edge it with a 2-1 scoreline as our Kenya vs Zimbabwe prediction for this match

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Main Tip: Correct Score 2-1

Our Kenya vs Zimbabwe predictions

According to the statistics and the odds of the bookmakers, we suggest the following tips:

Prediction 1: Correct Score 2-1

Here are 3 reasons why we are backing this match end with a correct score of 2-1

• Kenya have scored at least twice in 3 of their 4 H2H matches
• Zimbabwe have scored at least 1 goal in 3 of their last 4 matches across all competitions
• In their last matchup which ended 2-0 to Kenya, Zimbabwe created numerous opportunities. We fancy them to create and finish better this time around

Odds for this bet

1Win offers competitive odds for the bet “Correct Score 2-1”

The odd of 8.50 means that the bookmakers are calculating with a likelihood of approx. 12% chance that this match will end with a correct score of 2-1 in favor of Kenya

Odds comparison for Correct Score 2-1

1Win – odd 8.50
10Bet – odd 8.00

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Prediction 2: 1st Half Under 1.5 Goals

3 reasons why we are backing the opening half of this match to have no more than 1 goal scored

• Only 1 of their 4 meetings had more than 1 goal in the opening half
• Both teams have struggled to score goals; Kenya average 1.00 in their last 5 while Zimbabwe average 0.80 in the same period
• Their 4 H2H goal average is 2.00

Odds for this bet

Paripesa offers competitive odds for “1st Half Under 1.5 Goals”

The odd of 1.28 means that the bookmakers are calculating with a likelihood of approx. 78% that this match will have fewer than 2 goals in the first half

Odds comparisons 1st Half Under 1.5 Goals

Paripesa – odd 1.28
Betwinner – odd 1.26

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Prediction 3: Over 3.5 Bookings

Here’s why we feel there is value in picking this match to have at least 4 bookings

• 2 of their last 3 encounters have had at least 4 bookings
• Again for both teams 2 of their last 3 respective matches have also had at least 4 bookings
• Being the opening match, we expect a close match with a chance for physical play that could result in a number of bookings both ways

Statistics for Kenya vs Zimbabwe Prediction

Team News Kenya

• Major Blow: Kenya national team captain Michael Olunga (30) is a doubt for this match due to an injury picked while playing for his club Al-Duhail SC in the Qatar Stars League
• Injury Woes: Also set to miss this match are Daniel Anyembe (26), who plays as a right-back for Danish Superliga club Viborg FF, Bristol City defender Zak Vyner (27), and Collins Sichenje (20), who features for Serbian SuperLiga club Vojvodina, on loan from Swedish side AIK, also through injuries.
• New Callups: Firat has called up AFC Leopards forward Victor Omune, as a backup for Olunga. Other strikers in Firat’s squad include John Avire, St. Mirren forward Jonah Ayunga and last season’s Golden Boot winner Benson Omalla, who recently left champions Gor Mahia to sign for Al Safa FC in Lebanon

Team News Zimbabwe

• Hanging the Boots: Veteran striker Khama Billiat who despite a strong season at Yadah with nine league goals remains excluded following his retirement from international football
• Captain to the Resue: Coach Neems will be relying on Stade de Reims midfielder Marshall Munetsi who also serves as the captain of Zimbabwe. He has already joined up with the training camp
• Calls Ups: Further strengthening the squad are Tawanda Chirewa from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tinotenda Kadewere of FC Nantes
• Bolstering the defence: Konyaspor’s defender Teenage Hadebe made it to the team training camp. He should be partnering with Gerald Takwara in the center of defense, forming a formidable duo for this upcoming game.

H2H statistics

Looking at the 4 meetings between these teams:

• Kenya have 3 wins, and 1 game was drawn
• The goal average in these matches is 2.00
• The last encounter ended in 2-0 in favor of Kenya back in July 2024

Latest results Kenya

• 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in their last 5 matches
• 5 goals scored in these last 5 matches. Average of 1.00 goals per match
• Beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in their last match

Latest results Zimbabwe

• 2 wins and 3 losses in their last 5 matches
• Just 4 goals scored in these last 5 matches. Average 0.80 goals per match
• Lost 0-2 to Kenya in their last match

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