Namibia - Liberia predictions and free betting tips [05/06/2024]

In the first match of a jam-packed week of World Cup qualifiers in Africa, Namibia will face Liberia at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg. Group winners will earn a place in the final stages, while the team finishing second will proceed to the playoff round, which will determine two more lucky qualifiers.

Namibia

The home team is one of the 17 teams whose home games scheduled for this week had to use alternative venues because their own stadiums did not meet the required standards. Having achieved success at the African Cup of Nations, Namibia hopes to qualify for the World Cup as well. Though Collin Benjamin’s side currently leads their group with six points after two matches, they lost their first game to Equatorial Guinea 1-0, but later were awarded a technical victory due to the ineligibility of Equatorial Guinea’s striker Emilio Nsue in the first two qualifiers. In the second round, Namibia comfortably defeated the weaker side of Sao Tome and Principe 2-0. Namibia will have to do without Ryan Nyambe and Ananias Gebhardt due to injuries. Over the past few months, Benjamin has invited several newcomers to the national team, all of whom have chances to appear on the field tomorrow.

Liberia

The visitors come into this match with three points and third place in the group table, but like their opponents, they were awarded a 3-0 win despite losing to Equatorial Guinea last November. In addition to this, they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Malawi. Although Namibia is currently 46 places above Liberia according to the world rankings, the visitors have never lost to their opponents. Mario Marinica’s team has no reported injuries, meaning Mark Pabai from Viktoria Plzeň, Nohan Kpene from Shrewsbury Town, and Livingston midfielder Mo Sangare are likely to feature in the starting lineup.

Match prediction: Namibia vs Liberia

The hosts have achieved significant successes in recent years and demonstrated this at the African Cup of Nations. Namibia is capable of getting crucial results when necessary, so they should be taking all three points here.

Prediction for the Total 

Both teams are not very prolific in their games, and Namibia has a home match not on their own turf. The hosts should have the advantage, but it is unlikely to tip the scales significantly in their favour. Given all the inputs, a total under (TU) 2.5 goals looks the safest bet.