South Africa vs Botswana Predictions & Tips - Bafana to begin COSAFA Cup with home victory

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 05 Jul 2021

Ralph Staniforth 05 Jul 2021

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South Africa vs Botswana Predictions for Tuesday’s COSAFA Cup match
Fixture is being played at 16:00 BST at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
South Africa have won 4 of their last 7 home matches
Botswana have failed to score in 8 of their last 10 matches
Betting tips, predictions and team news for South Africa vs Botswana

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South Africa tipped for win (Getty Images)

South Africa vs Botswana Predictions

South Africa have a strong squad despite all the new faces and are good on home soil while the visitors have one win in 13 matches. A win to nil for South Africa is our best bet.

South Africa have won 4 of their last 7 home matches (all competitions).
South Africa have seen under 2.5 goals in 4 of their last 6 home matches (all competitions).
Botswana have lost 4 of their last 5 matches (all competitions).
Botswana have failed to score in 8 of their last 10 matches (all competitions).

Head to Head

South Africa hold an 8-2 advantage across the previous eleven meetings with Botswana with one draw.

The sides last met in 2019 in a 2-2 draw in the COSAFA Cup as Botswana won on penalties.

South Africa Form

Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations after finishing below Ghana and Sudan.

South Africa won home and away against Sao Tome as a 2-0 victory was followed by a 4-2 away win as Percy Tau and Themba Zwane scored twice each.

South Africa then drew 1-1 at Ghana before a 2-0 loss in Sudan when just a draw was needed in their last match to reach the AFCON in 2021. Their last match saw a 3-2 friendly win against Uganda having trailed 1-0.

South Africa Injuries & Team News

New coach Hugo Broos has handed coaching duties to assistant Helman Mkhalele for this tournament. An experimental squad has been selected without star forward Percy Tau or former captain Thulani Hlatshwayo in defence.

Goalkeeper Veli Mothwa will captain the team and Bongokuhle Hlongwane is expected to play up front after scoring on his international debut against Uganda last time out.

Botswana Form

Botswana have won just once in their last 13 matches. They failed to qualify for the 2021 AFCON are finishing bottom of their group with four losses in six matches.

A 1-0 defeat to Algeria was followed by a 2-1 loss in Zambia having led 1-0. Botswana then beat Zambia 1-0 for their lone victory in qualifying.

A 1-0 loss to Zimbabwe and a 5-0 thrashing away to Algeria completed the qualification group.

Botswana Injuries & Team News

Botswana will be led by caretaker coach Letang Kgengwenyane after head coach Adel Amrouche was given a leave of absence.

They have selected their strongest squad with South African based defender Thatayaone Ditlhokwe captaining the side and leading the defence. Another familiar player for Bafana Bafana will be speedy forward Kabelo Seakanyeng.