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Morocco vs Gabon Preview and Betting Tips - Atlas Lions to Begin AFCON Qualifiers with Comfortable Win

tolu-shotade
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Last updated: Wed 23 Sep 2026 15:05
Morocco kick off their AFCON qualifying campaign at home against Gabon, boasting impressive recent form and dominance in past meetings. The Atlas Lions have been nearly unstoppable, remaining unbeaten in nine of their last ten matches and recording big wins over Gabon previously. Gabon, currently in a transitional phase and without key players, have struggled lately. Given their historic advantage and current momentum, Morocco are strong favorites for another clear victory, with betting tips leaning towards Morocco -1 on the handicap market.
Tolu Shotade 1 hour ago
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  • Morocco unbeaten in 9 of last 10 games and strong favourites vs Gabon.
  • Gabon in transition, missing key players and poor recent form.
  • Atlas Lions expected to secure another comfortable win in AFCON qualifier.
Morocco vs Gabon
Morocco vs Gabon (Getty Images)

Morocco vs Gabon AFCON Qualifier Preview 


Morocco begin their campaign in Group A of AFCON qualifying with a home clash against Gabon. 

The Atlas Lions have been in good form lately and boast a solid record in this fixture.

Key Stats


  • Morocco are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
  • Morocco have won by two or more goals in their last five matches against Gabon. 
  • Gabon have lost four of their last five matches in all competitions.

Morocco with the Advantage


Morocco have seven wins while Gabon have been victorious four times with three draws in 14 previous matches. The Atlas Lions did the double in the last AFCON qualifiers, earning a 4-1 home victory before easing to a 5-1 triumph in the reverse fixture. 

Morocco Almost Unstoppable 


Morocco have been the top-ranked team on the continent for a while and reached the final of the previous AFCON. They were also the African team to go the farthest at the FIFA World Cup, progressing to the quarter-finals before falling 2-0 to France.

Things have been pretty smooth for Morocco lately, and they are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions. They have picked up six wins in this run and will look to carry that form into the AFCON qualifiers.

Morocco have been superior to a lot of opponents lately and have earned a few one-sided results in their recent matches. Among the results for Mohamed Ouahbi’s team is a 3-0 victory over Canada at the World Cup, while they also earned a 5-0 win over Burundi in a friendly back in May. 

Transitional Period for Gabon


Gabon had a disappointing showing at the last AFCON, losing all three of their group stage matches. The poor performance led to an inquiry back home, with several players, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, getting suspended from the national team. 

Aubameyang has since announced his retirement from international football, and Gabon appear to be heading into a new era. They have a solid record in AFCON qualifiers, having played in six of the last nine tournaments. 

Gabon’s last outing was at the FIFA Series in March as they played out a 2-2 draw in normal time before winning on penalties. However, their recent form has been underwhelming, losing four of their last five matches in all competitions.

Team News & Predicted Line-ups 


Morocco (4-2-3-1): Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Nayef Aguerd, Anass Salah-Eddine; Ayoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui; Brahim Díaz, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Ismael Saibari. 

Ismael Saibari is back with Morocco following an injury that ended his World Cup campaign in the group stage. The forward should feature in attack while Nayef Aguerd and Issa Diop are expected to line up at the back.

Gabon (4-2-3-1): Jean-Noel Amonome; Anthony Oyono, Alex Moucketou-Moussoonda, Jaques Ekomie; Aaron Appindangoye, Mario Lemina, Didier Ndong; Denis Bouanga, Guelor Kanga, Jim Allevinah; Rody Junior Effaghe.

Gabon are without striker Aubameyang, who retired from the national team after the AFCON. Rody Junior Effaghe should lead the line for the visitors while Anthony Oyono is set to feature at the back. 

Verdict

Morocco have the superior quality here and claimed comfortable victories in the last two matches against Gabon. 

They should earn another dominant victory over the West Africans, who have plenty of problems at the moment.

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tolu-shotade
Tolu Shotade

Football Writer • 10+ Years as a Betting Analyst, TV & Radio Lead Presenter

Worked as a sports anchor on radio between 2007 and 2012 before switching to television. Tolu was the lead presenter for the Italian Serie A, English Premier League and German Bundesliga on satellite television in Africa and joined SuperSport in 2017. He began writing for freetips.com in 2018 and has a deep knowledge of the African leagues as well as Europe's top 5 leagues including the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. Favourite Sports: Football addict with interests in boxing and tennis.

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