Benin vs Mauritania preview: Tosin and Koita provide the attacking focus

Benin face Mauritania on 29 September at 17:00 GMT, with both sides looking to make their mark in a closely watched international fixture.

A. Tosin has scored once for Benin this season, while Aboubakary Koita has also found the net once for Mauritania. The two forwards are therefore among the players expected to attract attention as both teams look for an attacking spark.

The key statistics of the players of both teams this season:

• Assists: (Benin) — 0 assists, Oumar Ngom (Mauritania) — 1 assists.
• Goalkeepers saves: S. Allagbé (Benin) — 0, Mamadou Diop (Mauritania) — 4
• Tackles: (Benin) — 0, Lamine Ba (Mauritania) — 1.
• Most encounters won: J. Olaitan (Benin) — 9, Aboubakary Koita (Mauritania) — 10.

Top 5 scorers this season:

1. N. Dorgeles (2, Mali)
2. L. Mickels (1, Rwanda)
3. I. Maza (1, Algeria)
4. M. Diallo (1, Mauritania)
5. A. Hadj-Moussa (1, Algeria)

Team statistics:

Benin’s latest listed result is a draw, while Mauritania’s most recent result is a win. That gives Mauritania the stronger immediate momentum on paper, although the match is likely to be decided by how well each side manages long periods without the ball.

The five previous matches played by the teams:

• Benin — D
• Mauritania — W

Benin will need to make home advantage count. Their main priority is likely to be a controlled start, especially against a Mauritania side arriving with the confidence that comes from a victory. The home side must avoid allowing Mauritania to settle into the game quickly, because an early goal could force Benin to take greater risks.

According to home statistics this season, Benin scores more goals and concedes more in the following intervals:

Intervals	Goal Scored, %	Goals conceded, %
0-15	100.00%	100.00%
16-30
31-45
46-60
61-75
76-90
91-105

Mauritania has the following time frames of scoring and conceding goals:

Intervals	Goal Scored, %	Goals conceded, %
0-15	33.33%	100.00%
16-30	33.33%
31-45	33.33%
46-60
61-75
76-90
91-105

Head-to-head stats:

Teams	Games	Win		Draws		Losses
		H	A	H	A	H	A
Benin	2	1	0	1	0	0	0
Mauritania		0	0	0	1	0	1

Probabilities before the match:

Benin		Mauritania
42.0%	Winning the game	42.0%
25%	Attack potential	25%
50%	Potential in defense	50%
50%	Strength against each other	50%
60%	Goal Potential	60%

Summary: the probability of Mauritania winning – 45%, draw – 45%, loss – 10%. Thus Benin, most likely, loss (loss or draw)

Goal Forecast:Benin, is likely to score -1.5 goals, Mauritania is likely to score no more than -3.5.

The bookmaker odds for this match:

Home win	Draw	Away win
0	0	0

Save the date

The match between the teams Benin and Mauritania will take place on September 29 at 17:00 (GMT) at the stadium Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara.