African giants Senegal have made a positive start to their 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign and are currently level on four points with group leaders Burkina Faso, who they held to a 1-1 draw in their opening match.

While the Lions of Teranga would have been disappointed with that result, having led the game into stoppage time, they made no mistake in their second match, seeing off a spirited Burundi side on the road.

The result extended the 2021-22 winners' unbeaten run to six matches, four wins and two draws, since their AFCON exit against Côte d'Ivoire earlier this year.

However, last week saw the end of an era for the team as the Senegalese Football Federation announced the end of Aliou Cisse's nine-year tenure, citing the former captain's failure to achieve their goals of winning the 2023 AFCON and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

As a result, the Lions of Teranga will go into this month's qualifiers without a permanent coach, although Cisse's former assistant Pape Thiaw will take charge on an interim basis until the next manager is confirmed.

Meanwhile, Malawi are bidding to reach the main draw of the AFCON for only the fourth time in their history, but their recent record suggests that they are unlikely to do so unless they can win their remaining group matches.

The Flames suffered back-to-back defeats in the first two rounds of this competition, losing 3-2 to Burundi in their opener before proving no match for Burkina Faso, who ran out 3-1 winners on the second matchday.

Patrick Mabedi's side are now on a three-match losing streak and have lost six of their last seven matches, with victory over Sao Tome and Principe their only positive result in the last 12 months.

Their poor form has also seen Malawi's FIFA ranking plummet seven places in the last month to 133rd in the world and 39th in the 53-member CAF.

The two sides have met only three times in the past and Malawi have never beaten Senegal, losing twice and drawing their last meeting in January 2022.

After much uncertainty, the Senegalese Football Federation finally announced last week that Galatasaray defender Ismail Jakobs had been cleared to join the team for the double-header against Malawi.

Jakobs will join an already star-studded squad that includes Edouard Mendy, Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson, Kalidou Koulibaly and Moussa Niakhate, all of whom are expected to feature in the coming week.

Malawi, unlike most of the other nations involved in these qualifiers, have announced a squad of just 20 players, most of whom featured in the first two matches against Burkina Faso and Burundi.

One player who has received a call-up, however, is Nyasa Big Bullets midfielder Lloyd Aaron, who returns to the national team for the first time since a cameo appearance for the Flames against Mozambique in June.

Senegal possible starting lineup:

E Mendy; F Mendy, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Jakobs; Sarr, Camara, Ndiaye, Gueye, Mane; Jackson

Malawi possible starting lineup:

Chikooka; Sanudi, Mwase, Chembezi, Chirwa; Chester, Idana, Aaron, Nkhoma; Kaonga, Mphasi

Prediction:Senegal 2-1 Malawi

Senegal VS Malawi stream and TV listing

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