With the holders Egypt failing to make the AFCON 2012 finals, North African hopes are carried by Morocco and Tunisia. Both sides have been drawn in Group C and they meet in their opening match of the tournament in Libreville, Gabon on Monday.

Co-hosts Gabon who meet Niger earlier on Monday are the other nations in Group C which has a pretty wide open look about it compared to the other three groups. Morocco will face the host nation next up whilst Tunisia will meet Niger, the outsiders of the party. A win for either side here will be seen as a giant stride towards knockout stage of the tournament but the last three meetings between these nations (which took place between 2004 and 2007) each ended all square, two 1-1 draws and one 2-2 draw.

Morocco came through what proved to be a competitive qualifying group ahead of Central Africa Republic, Algeria and Tanzania. They were unbeaten at home with two wins and one draw, they missed out on the 2010 Finals and probably fall into the “dangerous opposition” category this time around. They prepared for the finals in Marbella, Spain before heading out to Gabon. Arsenal's Marouane Chamakh is considered the star turn and he arguably performs much better for his country than he has done for his current club. For more details on the squad selected by coach Eric Gerets, click here .

Tunisia were a huge disappointment in the 2010 Finals, finishing bottom of a tough group after drawing all three of their matches. They scraped into the 2012 finals as one of the best runners up, finishing second in their group, three points behind Botswana and three ahead of Malawi whilst Togo and Chad were the “also rans”. The goals of Issam Jemaa have been a plus point but the Auxerre striker misses this game through injury and is by no means a certain starter for their next match with Niger. Their warm up matches were played in Abu Dhabi and included a 3-0 win over Sudan and 2-0 defeat to Ivory Coast.

The Betting, Match Result

Morocco 15/10 BetXchange, Sportsbet, World Sports Betting

Draw 21/10 Hollywood, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes

Tunisia 23/10 BetXchange

Selected Others

Half Time Result Draw even money Sportsbet

Over 2.5 goals 15/10 BetXchange, World Sports Betting

Both teams to score (yes) 23/20 Sportsbet

Draw no Bet Morocco 0.75 Sportsbet

Draw no Bet Tunisia 11/10 BetXchange, Sportsbet

Note, odds are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change. Not all bookmakers had priced up at the time of writing and many more markets are available. Watch out for the option to bet “in play” where available

Analysis

This could be very tight and again it's one that neither side can afford to lose but I'm going with Morocco in the draw no bet market. They might just have enough to edge this anyway but with Tunisia minus their main goal threat, the scales tip a touch further in Morocco's favour

Bet: Draw no Bet Morocco 0.75 Sportsbet

Follow more picks and opinion on our discussion forum for late calls and the views of others in our sports betting community

Follow the Goodforthegame Sports Betting Analysts on Twitter
Alan Moscrop	Brent Graham	Chris Sturdy	Sean Nicholas