TheCable

The Super Eagles have a mountain to climb when they take on Group E leaders, Libya, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

The Mediterranean Knights are at the summit of the group while South Africa is second, Nigeria is third and Seychelles sit in bottom place.

The Super Eagles have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and are desperate to make it to Cameroon in 2019.

The Eagles swept aside Seychelles 3-0 in their second game of the AFCON qualifiers and they will need to maintain that form if they are to qualify for the biggest football competition in Africa.

Nigeria had an almost-perfect 2018 World Cup qualification campaign, beating the likes of Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia, but the team with the snazzy jersey crashed out in the first round of the mundial in Russia.

Head-to-head

Nigeria have won two of their three previous meetings with Libya, scoring three goals and conceding two.

Prediction

Libya are the underdogs in this fixture, but if there’s anything the World Cup showed, it’s that the era of minnows in football is over.

The Mediterranean Knights will also be motivated by the fact that they are unbeaten in their first two games in the AFCON qualifiers.

However, the Eagles are poised to win partly because of the squad’s quality and also because they are determined to qualify for the next AFCON.