Home and Away: Eagles looking to return to previous heights against the Congo

Patrice Carteron will be looking for his side to secure their place in the next round of the competition this evening.

Jonno Turner picks two selections to kick off the week - focusing on actions in the Netherlands and South Africa.

We're off to the Netherlands for our first selection of the week - as in-form Volendam host Almere City at the Kras Stadion, aiming to achieve their fourth win from five league outings on their own patch.

Hans de Koning's side have been impressive this year, and currently sit in ninth place in the Eerste Divisie - already much improved on their 12th position last time out.

And in the bigger picture, nine wins from a dozen home clashes indicates that the Oranje are more than capable of securing three points against their guests this evening.

Twelve goals notched in their last five at the Kras suggests that the hosts have the attacking quality necessary to make their mark on the division, and de Koning's side are at full strength here.

Almere go into this one having lost 14 of their last 19 away outings, and have recently installed new boss Dick de Boer at the helm - as they aim to improve on their 11th position.

No wins in their last three suggests that the Mitsubishi Forklift Stadion side are slightly off colour at the moment, and they have made moves in the transfer market to correct that - signing Ajax trio Gino van Kessel, Sven Nieuwpoort and Bryan Ottenhoff in order to engineer that turnaround.

But a 1-0 loss to Helmond Sport was not the way they would have wanted to make their debuts last week, and it seems that there is still plenty of work to do at Almere.

Bet 1: Volendam (HOME) @ 1.6

Over to South Africa now for the African Cup of Nations - and with the competition hotting up, we're focusing on the clash between Congo and Mali this afternoon.

Congo go into this game in miserable form, and are without a win in four outings - and still desperate to claim their first three points of this competition.

Boss Claude Le Roy will be pleased with his sides unbeaten start to the competition, but their two draws leaves them sitting third in Group B, one point behind their opponents.

That makes this one a huge tie for both sides, and with top side Ghana lining up against bottom of the table Niger, it is likely to decide who will take the final qualification place.

But Congo looked off the pace in a 0-0 stalemate with whipping boys Niger on Thursday, and will need to up their performance levels if they are to match their opponents here.

Mali prepare for this one having won four of their last five, and they will be looking to get back on track following a narrow 1-0 defeat to the group leaders last week.

Boss Patrice Carteron certainly has quality in his squad - and with 12 of his 23 charges plying their trade in France's Ligue 1, they will be more than prepared for the big game atmosphere.

And the Eagles could reach the Quarter Finals with a draw, if Ghana beat Niger - but after a below par performance in their last outing, Carteron will be keen for his side to go for the win here, and captain Seydou Keita has intimated that nothing less than three points will do.

Two clean sheets from their last four suggests that Mali are capable of holding out Le Roy's side, and I'm backing them to pick up the points they need to make the knockout stages.

Bet 2: Mali (AWAY) @ 2.24