With the hosts of the Africa Cup of Nations Ivory Coast set to lock horns with Guinea-Bissau in the tournament's curtain-raiser, here's a preview of the much-anticipated fixture, with the home nation also confirming a huge blow heading into the match.
The stage is set for 34th edition of AFCON, as the hosts look get their campaign off to flying start at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe in Abidjan.
However, the Elephants have suffered their first major blow, as manager Jean-Louis Gasset confirmed that star striker Sebastien Haller as well as Brighton Hove Albion's Simon Adringra have both been ruled out of the opening game due to injuries.
"Tomorrow he [Haller] will not be in the squad, for sure, but we have five days after that before the next game and we will see how he gets on," Gasset told reporters on Friday, according to France24.
"Yesterday they had scans to see how they are and the doctor was delighted.
"We will see when they can return but both are on course."
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Speaking on the expectations for the tournament, having last won it in 2015 in South Africa, Gasset added: "We feel the expectation every day but we just need to live with it.
"My job is to transform the pressure into something positive, to make sure that gives the players strength and confidence.
"There are no small teams anymore. The aim is to get off to a good start but we need to make sure we respect the opposition."
Ivory Coast are unbeaten in their last 12 opening matches of the competition, with their last defeat in the opening game coming against Ghana in 1996.
According to CAF, it will be Cote d'Ivoire's 100th match in the competition, joining Egypt and Ghana among the nations who have played a century of games at the showpiece.
Guinea-Bissau head into the fixture as underdogs and will look to cause a sensational upset in what will be their fourth participation at AFCON. Their debut came only six years ago and the team holds an unwanted record of having finished bottom of their group in each of their three previous participations.
They will be counting on the duo Zinho Gano and Jorginho, who scored the bulk of their goals in the AFCON qualifiers - with three-a-piece from a total of 11 team goals.
The Guinea-Bissau boss Baciro Cande suggested that he side were capable of causing an upset:
"We know we can create a sensation against the hosts," Cande said, according to CAFOnline.
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