Africa Cup of Nations 2015: Updated Tournament Fixtures and Predictions

After the first week of the tournament, the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations remains an open forum with every single participating team still in with a chance of progressing past the group stage.

The standings showcase what a finely weighted contest the competition has been thus far, but as we come into the final round of group matchups, we'll also see the first eliminations.

Read on as we dissect the remaining fixtures, judging teams on form and their potential to book a quarter-final berth and which sides might be expected to top the four pools.

Date	Time (GMT/ET)	Stage	Fixture
Jan. 25	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group A	Congo v Burkina Faso
Jan. 25	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group A	Gabon v Equatorial Guinea
Jan. 26	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group B	Cape Verde Islands v Zambia
Jan. 26	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group B	Congo DR v Tunisia
Jan. 27	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group C	Senegal v Algeria
Jan. 27	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group C	South Africa v Ghana
Jan. 28	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group D	Cameroon v Ivory Coast
Jan. 28	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group D	Guinea v Mali
Jan. 31	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Quarter-Final 1	Group A Winner v Group B Second Place
Jan. 31	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Quarter-Final 2	Group B Winner v Group A Second Place
Feb. 1	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Quarter-Final 3	Group C Winner v Group D Second Place
Feb. 1	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Quarter-Final 4	Group D Winner v Group C Second Place
Feb. 4	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Semi-Final 1	Quarter-Final 1 Winner v Quarter-Final 4 Winner
Feb. 5	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Semi-Final 2	Quarter-Final 2 Winner v Quarter-Final 3 Winner
Feb. 7	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Third-place	Semi-Final 1 Loser v Semi-Final 2 Loser
Feb. 8	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Final	Semi-Final 1 Winner v Semi-Final 2 Winner

Group A	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Pts
Group B	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Pts
Group C	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Pts
Group D	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Pts
1	Congo	2	1	1	0	2	1	1	4	4
2	Gabon	2	1	0	1	2	1	1	3	3
3	Equatorial Guinea	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2	2
4	Burkina Faso	2	0	1	1	0	2	-2	1	1
1	Tunisia	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	4
2	Cape Verde	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2	2
3	DR Congo	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2	2
4	Zambia	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1	1
1	Senegal	2	1	1	1	3	2	1	4	4
2	Ghana	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3	3
3	Algeria	2	1	0	1	3	2	1	3	3
4	South Africa	2	0	1	1	2	4	-2	1	1
1	Ivory Coast	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2	2
2	Mali	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2	2
3	Cameroon	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2	2
4	Guinea	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2	2

Group Winner Predictions

Group A: Congo

Current Group A leaders Congo need only a draw from Sunday's fixture against Burkina Faso to ensure they qualify for the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

However, Claude Le Roy's side have bigger things in sight as they look to dust off their pool campaign in style, and they are the only team in Group A to have won a fixture thus far.

As Oluwashina Okeleji of BBC Sport attests, it's territory that Le Roy is familiar with, and his management will be pivotal to the team keeping a cool head in the decisive tie:

Victory over Gabon has put the outfit in a prime position to claim top spot, with Burkina Faso yet to score a single goal in the competition and looking vulnerable.

What's more, Congo can rely upon third-placed hosts Equatorial Guinea giving Gabon a difficult challenge in their closing group matchup, relieving the Red Devils of some pressure to win Sunday's clash.

Group B: Tunisia

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

Tunisia currently hold the biggest points advantage of any group leader at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations—a two-point cushion over fellow Group B contenders Cape Verde and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They come up against DR Congo in their final group fixture, but as WhoScored.com has pointed out, the Leopards weren't able to muster much of a threat on goal in their most recent outing:

The Tunisians were somewhat fortunate to beat Zambia, 2-1, in their last match, but if the victory showed us anything, it was that they can take their chances when they come, irrespective of how few and far between they are.

Zambia could still be a threat to qualify in Group B, but as ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery states, the loss of Southampton striker Emmanuel Mayuka may harm their hopes:

With the advantage already in their favour and other sides not looking as clinical in front of goal, Tunisia should proceed at Group B's summit.

Group C: Ghana

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

The Black Stars bounced back from defeat against Senegal in their opening game to record a last-gasp 1-0 win over Algeria in their second outing of the tournament to salvage their hopes of advancing.

Asamoah's Gyan's decisive strike against the Algerians has pushed Ghana level on points with the Maghreb side in second place behind Senegal. John Bennett of the BBC details just how finely things are poised:

One clear advantage in manager Avram Grant's favour is that his side take on South Africa in their last group outing. Bafana Bafana have been far from inspiring in the competition and conceded three goals against Algeria.

While Senegal attempt to hold off the same threat, Ghana will be looking to mount their own attacking surge against the South Africans and are more than capable of doing so if they can gather form.

Group D: Mali

Mali came agonisingly close to becoming the first team in Group D to win a fixture in this year's tournament, but a late Max Gradel strike clawed back a 1-1 draw for the Ivory Coast. As Okeleji stated, the Elephants were fortunate:

The result helped ensure that every Group D match thus far has ended with a 1-1 scoreline, but Mali will be looking to change that against Guinea on Tuesday.

Following the draw on Saturday, Ivory Coast manager Herve Renard criticised the Malian players for their rough tactics, per Brian Oliver of Goal.com:

"The Confederation of African Football support Fair Play so I will say no more, it’s too late now anyway—the game is over. But I’m sure you understand why I was angry.”

Sunday Alamba/Associated Press

That being said, the Seydou Keita-led outfit possess and edge that not all teams do, and while Mali may not have functioned as the prettiest side at the tournament, their performances have been effective.

They possess the capacity to beat Guinea and can look forward to the Ivory Coast having a tough time against Cameroon. In order to ensure their fate, though, finishing is needed in a group that could come down to goal difference.