Guinea vs Kenya: Preview, Team News, Possible Lineups and Score Prediction

Harambee Stars embark on a tough away assignment as they face Guinea in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Conakry on Thursday evening.

Kenya are coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw with Eritrea, a match played after a single training session, owing to a boycott over delayed allowances.

However, they will have to put that disappointment behind as they take on a much better opponent than the one they faced on Saturday.

Guinea, ranked 82nd in the world, have some of the continent’s best players and will punish any mistakes. The Syli National are also wounded as they lost 2-1 to South Africa on Saturday.

It was their third straight loss in all competitions, which adds pressure on head coach Paulo Duarte.

For Guinea, the match holds greater significance as it will be the first time they will be playing at home since June 2022, owing to a lack of an approved stadium.

They went through the remainder of their AFCON 2023 qualifiers, the entire AFCON 2025 qualifiers and 2026 World Cup qualification campaign while playing away from home.

Now, the 25,000-seater Stade du 28 Septembre opens its gates for the Syli National as they welcome the Harambee Stars and it is expected to be full despite complaints over high ticket prices.

Harambee Stars come into the match after mixed fortunes in their recent outings. Kenya have two wins, as many draws and a loss in their last four matches, but they had lost four on the bounce before that.

In their last 10 games, Kenya have won four, their biggest margins coming against minnows Seychelles (5-0), Grenada (3-0) and Lesotho (4-1). There have been two draws and four defeats over that period.

Meanwhile, Guinea have fared worse, losing their last three games in a row, having drawn back-to-back matches prior to that. In their last 10 games, Syli National have won three, drawn four and lost three. Their wins came against Somalia (3-0), Mozambique (2-1) and Liberia (2-0).

Kenya and Guinea have an even head-to-head record as in their eight meetings since the first in 1992, each team has won four. Interestingly, none is yet to win away, with all those victories secured on home soil for both Kenya and Guinea.

Their last meeting was a World Cup qualifier in October 2008 when Guinea won 3-2 in Conakry, having lost 2-0 in Nairobi in June that year. Guinea have the biggest winning margins in this contest with a 4-0 victory in their first-ever meeting in December 1992 and 3-1 in November 1996.

Benni McCarthy did not suffer injury setbacks during his team’s match against Eritrea although Manzur Okwaro had an issue but he is expected to shake it off and be available for the game.

What is not certain is if he will stick with the same starting XI that was not clinical against Eritrea. Ben Stanley Omondi, who provided the assist for Ryan Ogam’s equaliser, and Mohammed Bajaber, who looked sharp when he came on, have a strong case for a starting role.

Byrne Omondi; Ronney Onyango, Abud Omar, Haniff Wesonga, Frank Odhiambo; Manzur Okwaro, Timothy Ouma, Duke Abuya; Ben Stanley Omondi, Job Ochieng, Ryan Ogam

Harambee Stars have a poor away record which counts against them in this contest and given Guinea have a top striker in Serhou Guirassy, the Syli National are backed to secure a slim win.