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COTE D’IVOIRE will be without Gervinho, who must serve a two-match suspension and would only be available again if his side reach the quarter-finals. Seydou Doumbia is set to start, having come off the bench to score the equaliser against Guinea. Guinea coach Henryk Kasperczak is confident his side will do well.

“Mali are also a very good side in Africa just now. At the last Cup of Nations we were third and we’re here to confirm that good performance.”

Cote d’Ivoire coach Herve Renard has admitted the team will miss the suspended Gervinho but is confident his team will improve from their lethargic display against Mali.

“There’s only one Gervinho in the Cote d’Ivoire and maybe in the competition, but I’m sure the ones who will play to replace Gervinho will do well,” Renard said.

“Seydou we know is someone who, when he finds himself in the opposition box, is unstoppable, so it’s highly likely that he will be associated with Wilfried Bony at the start of the match.”

Guinea coach Henryk Kasperczak feels there is little to choose between the teams in the group.

“Before the tournament I said it was a very well balanced group, with no favourites, even if most people thought Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire were the favourites,” he said.

Match Facts

• Cote d’Ivoire have a perfect Cup of Nations record against Mali, winning 3-1 in the 1994 third-place play-off, 3-0 in a 2008 group game and 1-0 in a 2012 semi-final.

• Coulibaly is a popular name among Mali defenders with Morocco-based Idrissa, Greece-based Ousmane and Democratic Republic of Congo-based Salif sharing the surname.

• Cote d’Ivoire coach Renard changed a policy among his predecessors of picking only foreign-based stars by including goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo and midfielder Roger Assale from domestic champions Sewe Sport.

• Saint Etienne are the only other club supplying two players to the Ivorian Elephants’ squad with midfielders Ismail Diomande and Max-Alain Gradel coming from the French outfit.

• While the Toure brothers of Cote d’Ivoire are famous, Mali also have brothers in Turkey-based striker Mustapha Yatabare and younger sibling Sambou Yatabare, a midfielder from French club Guingamp. — SuperSport