Zambia vs. Nigeria: African Cup of Nations Injury News, Preview, Team News

Both Zambia and Nigeria earned a point from their opening match of the 2013 African Cup of Nations and will be out to improve on that with a strong performance here.

Match tickets have reportedly been sold out for this great clash, with defending champions Zambia taking on one of the consistently strong trams in Africa.

The Super Eagles were the last team to beat the Copper Bullets in the African Cup—all the way back in 2010—and will know that after their incredibly unlucky result in the opening match, they have what it takes to topple the champions once more.

Read on for all the latest injury and team news here ahead of what is shaping up to be on of the top group matches from AFCON 2013.

Group: Group C, match three

When: Friday, January 25, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. ET

Where: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa

Standings

Latest team and injury news

 According to BBC Sport, Nigeria could be set for a last-minute boost with the news that attacker Victor Moses could be healthy enough for selection.

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Victor Moses should face Zambia after the Nigeria winger recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out of Monday's 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso. If selected, the 22-year-old will line-up alongside Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel for the Super Eagles.

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However, Celtic defender Efe Ambrose will definitely miss this match after being sent off for two bookable offenses in their opening AFCON match.

Nigeria have also faced problems within their squad during the week, as Sky Sports reports, that two players have been quarantined from the rest of the team.

Azubuike Egwuekwe and Gabriel Reuben both suffered chicken pox during the week and are unlikely to take the field here for the Super Eagles.

The biggest question mark surrounding Zambia is that of playmaker Chisamba Lungu, who will face a late fitness test for the match. Per BBC Sport:

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The 21-year-old picked up an ankle injury in the draw with Ethiopia will be tested in training but a spokesman said he is "90 percent" likely to play [providing he can get through the training session].

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What they're saying

Nigeria know that they let a huge opportunity slip against Burkina Faso in their opening match, and really should be sitting on top of their group right now.

Captain Joseph Yobo spoke via BBC Sport, saying that:

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We were disappointed after the first game, it wasn't easy to accept that setback, but that's behind us now. 

Now we have the defending champions in front of us, it's going to be very tough.

We've got to concentrate right till the end, and we've got to learn from our mistakes.

We believe we can beat Zambia, it's all about getting points now, we can't afford to lose.

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Possible starting lineups

Goal.com has put together their starting lineups for the match.

Preview

There's nothing like two African heavyweights squaring off here for what should be one of the greatest matches we've seen so far at AFCON 2013.

Nigeria are capable of getting home here against the Super Bullets, but they must contain the Zambian attack well and then capitalize on the counterattack themselves. The addition of Moses alongside Mikel will help that, but they must be more effective than their opening match of the competition.

I'd say a late Super Eagles goal does it here for Nigeria.

Final score: Nigeria 2, Zambia 1

Who can you see winning this AFCON match here?

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