Mansion Sports – The group stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations always presents compelling narratives, especially when two former champions face each other.

This duel between Algeria and Sudan is predicted to be one of the crucial matches that could significantly determine both teams’ paths in Group E.

The match is scheduled to take place at Moulay Hassan Stadium on Wednesday, 23 December 2025 at 16:00 local time.

After being eliminated in the group stage of the 2021 and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, The Fennecs require a positive start in Morocco as they face an opponent that has not recorded a victory in this competition since 2012.

Before the match begins, let us take a look at Mansion Sports’ prediction for the Algeria vs Sudan lineups December 2025 below.

Team Conditions Ahead of the Match

Algeria

When Algeria ended a 29-year wait to win the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2019 by defeating Senegal in the final, The Desert Warriors did not expect that triumph to become their most recent victory in the tournament.

A fortunate goal from Baghdad Bounedjah secured the win in Cairo six years ago, and since then the two-time African champions have failed to win again, facing Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, and Ivory Coast in the 2021 edition, as well as Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania in the previous finals, collecting only three points from a possible 18.

After setting an unwanted record by being eliminated in the group stage in consecutive editions for the first time in Africa Cup of Nations history, Algeria are aiming to avoid extending their absence from the knockout stages, starting with Wednesday’s match against Sudan.

The Fennecs are appearing in their 21st Africa Cup of Nations with the advantage of going unbeaten in the qualification phase, recording five wins and one draw, and scoring 16 goals, fewer only than Morocco with 26 goals, and level with South Africa.

That scoring record is no coincidence, as they also netted 24 goals in World Cup qualification, second only to Ivory Coast with 25 goals, with Mohamed El Amine Amoura emerging as Africa’s top scorer during that period.

Considering The Fennecs’ performances in both Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualification, another early exit would be a deeply disappointing outcome for the team coached by Vladimir Petkovic.

Sudan

Seeking to avoid early failure, Sudan face the highly motivated 1970 champions as they return to the tournament amid an ongoing war in their homeland.

The national team from the conflict-affected country were forced to play their home qualification matches outside Sudan, further highlighting the magnitude of the obstacles they had to overcome to reach Morocco.

Under the guidance of Ghanaian coach James Kwesi Appiah, the Falcons of Jediane twice avoided defeat against the Black Stars, drawing goalless in Accra before securing a 2-0 victory in the return leg held in Libya.

With two wins, two draws, and two defeats, Sudan secured their place in the finals by finishing one point ahead of Niger, while Ghana ended without a single victory after recording three draws and three losses.

Returning to the Africa Cup of Nations after missing the Ivory Coast edition, Appiah’s side are determined to avoid a repeat of the 2021 tournament, when they failed to win any of their three matches and lost to Nigeria and Egypt in a very demanding group.

Without a win since their shock 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Sudan enter Wednesday’s match with a four-game winless run in the competition, while hoping to produce a major surprise against their opponents.

Algeria vs Sudan Predicted Lineups – December 2025

Algeria (4-2-3-1)

Riyad Mahrez, now 34 years old, leads Algeria alongside fellow veteran and scorer of the winning goal in 2019, Baghdad Bounedjah, also aged 34, as The Fennecs look to end a six-match winless run at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Although Mahrez and Bounedjah have scored 33 and 35 goals respectively for the national team, the emergence of Amoura means that neither player is required to carry the entire scoring burden alone for the two-time African champions.

Amoura scored 10 goals in World Cup qualification, surpassing Egypt’s Mohamed Salah who scored nine, and contributed 41.7 percent of the team’s total goals.

This squad is also strengthened by Borussia Dortmund full-back Ramy Bensebaini, former AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer who now plays for Dinamo Zagreb, and former Nice defender Youcef Atal, who have collectively earned 186 international caps, although Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri could start at left-back in place of Bensebaini.

Luca Zidane, the son of legendary Zinedine Zidane, is expected to be the first choice in goal, ahead of Caen goalkeeper Anthony Mandrea, who has already earned 20 caps.

Sudan (4-4-2)

Sudan’s squad is largely composed of players competing in the domestic league, although captain Bakhit Khamis, Munjed Alnil, Muhamed Kesra, Sheddy Barglan, Abuaagla Abdalla, Ammar Taifour, Mohamed Eisa, Abo Eisa, Al-Jezoli, John Mano, and Aamir Abdallah play for clubs outside Sudan.

Among those names, Barglan, Eisa’s brother, and Abdallah are playing outside Africa, with careers respectively in the Netherlands, Thailand, and Australia.

Sudan had four different goal scorers during qualification, namely Mohamed Abdelrahman, Ahmed Al-Tash, Eisa, and Mustafa Karshoum, demonstrating that the team do not rely on a single player to score goals.

Nevertheless, Abdelrahman remains the leading scorer in this 28-man squad, with 23 international goals, well ahead of Yaser Muzmel who has scored eight.

With significant pressure on Algeria and an unyielding spirit from Sudan, this match is certain to be engaging from the opening minute.

The Algeria vs Sudan lineups December 2025 will be key to understanding how both coaches shape their strategies to secure vital points in Group E, while keeping their hopes alive of progressing further in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.