Nigeria will be looking to get their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign back on track when they host Libya in a Group E match at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kuduna on Friday. The match is scheduled to get underway at 18h30 (CAT).
The Super Eagles started their Afcon qualifying campaign on a poor note with a 2-0 loss to South Africa back in June last year, in front of their home fans, but bounced back with an impressive 3-0 win over Seychelles last month on September 8th.
That result sees them currently placed third in Group E with three points from two games, a point behind joint leaders South African and Libya.
Nigeria will be expected to beat Libya to jump above them on the standings, especially considering they are 51 places higher on the official FIFA World rankings.
Libya, though, will not be an easy team to overcome and have shown themselves to be stubborn opposition, especially when a loss could see them drop down the Group E standings.
In terms of form, neither team has looked to impressive. Of Nigeria’s last eight official fixtures they have only managed two wins while Libya has only managed three wins over the same number of games. But, with their head coach Adel Amrouche resigning days before the match, the team will find themselves under the advisory of Omar Al Marmi.
Still, both sides come into the game off the back of positive results with the Super Eagles beating Seychelles 3-0 and Libya holding South Africa to a draw away from home.
The two countries did meet earlier in the year in an African Nations Championship match and on that day in January the Super Eagles beat Libya 1-0.
Form Guide (In all competitions)
| Nigeria | L | L | W | L | W |
| Libya | W | W | L | L | D |
Head-to-head (In all competitions according to FIFA.com)
Matches – 3
Nigeria – 2
Libya – 1
Draws – 0
FIFA Rankings
48 – Nigeria
99 – Libya