Nigeria vs Ecuador: Preview, prediction, lineup as Super Eagles tackle La Tri

Ecuador and Nigeria square off in an international friendly game at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Friday, BSNSports com.ng reports.

The match is the first in a series of three friendly games that Ecuador will take part in throughout the United States. They face Mexico on Sunday and will then take on Cape Verde a week later.

Nigeria will conclude their warm-up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in this match, after suffering a 2-1 loss against Mexico on Sunday. They will travel back to Nigeria after the game and will continue their preparations for the campaign opener against Sierra Leone next Thursday.

Match Preview:

Ecuador failed to arrest their slump in form in their most recent outing on March 30, when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Argentina on home turf.

La Tri have now failed to win any of their last five outings across all competitions, including their final four outings in the World Cup qualifiers, picking up four draws and losing one since last November's 2-0 win over Chile.

Despite a poor end to their World Cup qualification campaign, an early run of form saw Gustavo Alfaro's men secure a place in Qatar after picking up 26 points from 18 games to finish two points above fifth-placed Peru in the playoffs spot.

Ecuador will fancy their chances of arresting their slump in form as they return home, where they are unbeaten in six consecutive games, picking up three wins and three draws since a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Peru in June 2021.

Nigeria, on the other hand, failed to kick off their friendlies on a good note as they fell to a 2-1 at the hands of Mexico when the sides squared off on Sunday.

After falling behind to Santiago Gimenez's first-half opener, Feyenoord forward Cyriel Dessers restored parity nine minutes into the second period before Watford defender William Troost-Ekong scored an own goal to hand El Tri a slender victory.

Prior to that, the Super Eagles saw their hopes of making a seventh World Cup appearance later this year come to an end when they were beaten on the away goal rule by rivals Ghana back in March.

Nigeria have now failed to win any of their last four games across all competitions, picking up two draws and losing two since January's 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The West African giants have also failed to taste victory in 10 consecutive friendly outings, losing five and picking up five draws since a narrow 1-0 win over Egypt back in March 2019.

Team News

Ecuador:

La Tri head coach Gustavo Alfaro has called upon 25 players for the three friendly games scheduled for this month. Despite the game's little competitive significance, some of the very big names have been included in the squad.

These matches might help Alfaro determine what his ideal starting XI should look like ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We expect him to experiment with the formations and lineups in the three games.

There are no reported injuries for South Americans ahead of the match.

Nigeria:

The Super Eagles had listed 30 players for the friendly games, but as of Sunday, only 20 players reported to the training camp. Emmanuel Dennis was the latest addition to the squad as he was able to join his teammates on Tuesday.

Innocent Bonke is nursing injuries and might not recover in time for this match.

Ecuador possible starting lineup:

Galindez; Castillo, Hincapie, Arboleda, Estupinan; Franco, Caicedo, Alvarado, Plata; Campana, Valencia

Nigeria possible starting lineup:

Uzoho; Bassey, Ajayi, Troost-Ekong, Awaziem; Etobo, Aribo, Iwobi; Simon, Dessers, Moffi

Ecuador vs Nigeria Prediction:

Ecuador have a strong squad at the moment and have just two losses in their last nine games, with three of their last four games ending in draws. Nigeria are missing some of their key players in the game and we expect them to suffer yet another defeat.