We are down to the final eight teams in the Africa Cup of Nations 2015, with one of the most open tournaments in recent memory.

The competition is beautifully poised with all the sides in the knockouts feeling they have a shot at glory.

The Ivory Coast leapfrogged their way into the quarter-finals after their slim 1-0 win against a disappointing Cameroon.

Algeria placed second in Group C after a fabulous strike from Nabil Bentaleb helped his side beat Senegal by 2-0.

Here is how you can watch this exciting quarter-final match, with TV and streaming information:

 

When: Sunday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. GMT/ 2:30 p.m. ET

Where: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

TV Info: British Eurosport (UK only) BeIN Sports (U.S. only)

Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK only) BeIN Sports Connect (U.S. only)

 

Yaya Toure Problems For Ivory Coast

By watching Manchester City’s talismanic midfielder in recent times, you would think Yaya Toure had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The former Barcelona player has been largely anonymous during AFCON 2015 for the Ivory Coast as rumours swirl around about his future with his club, per Sky Sports.

Toure has been linked with a move to Inter Milan to rejoin former boss Roberto Mancini and it is difficult to know whether the player has had his head turned or not.

City have themselves been making odd statements about the player, with coach Manuel Pellegrini professing his side can cope without his presence, as tweeted by the club’s official feed:

 

But in the tournament, we have not seen the Yaya of old—or even the one from last season who recovered his form to drive City to another EPL crown.

However, despite the strange body language, Yaya has performed this season to a good standard.

He has hit seven goals in his 18 Premier League appearances this term, per WhoScored.com, but he has failed to register a strike or assist for his country during the Africa Cup of Nations.

This has led football writer Jonathan Wilson to surmise the player has had a less productive tournament than his more unfashionable brother, Kolo:

 

Wilson further elaborated in his piece in The Guardian, questioning Yaya‘s state of mind and contentment: 

The one major concern for Ivory Coast is the form of Yaya Toure, who has lolloped about without great success, trying to link the front of midfield to the two strikers and has been substituted twice.

Max Gradel has been rather more successful than him in that linking role, scoring the equaliser against Mali before hitting the winner against Cameroon with a vicious swerving shot.

The official line is that all is well, but Toure, who is usually extremely approachable, has marched through the mixed zone after each of Ivory Coast’s last two games without stopping. After the Cameroon game he made a point of shouting there was no problem as he walked through, which of course rather suggested there was.

And now the player is a doubt for the Elephants battle with the Warriors of the Desert after sustaining a hamstring injury during his side’s 1-0 over Cameroon, per Goal.com.

On his day, Yaya is the best midfielder of his type in the world. No one can drive through the centre of the park with the ball attached to his feet with the sheer power he possesses.

He has been key for City and his country for many years but there is a feeling he might be on the slide, in terms of his impact.

At 31 years old, you would expect Yaya to still have plenty in the tank but the current conception of the player seems to suggest his best days might be passing him by.

 

Match Preview

Algeria have no fresh injury concerns in their ranks after their impressive 2-0 win against Senegal, per WhoScored.

The statistics website says the Warriors are likely to line up with an unchanged 4-2-3-1, with star man Nabil Bentaleb once again patrolling the midfield after his beautiful strike in the previous match.

The Tottenham player has been in top form during the Africa Cup of Nations and he has not let his opportunity to impress go amiss.

But it has been striker Islam Slimani who has shined the most in the Algerian side, with WhoScored ranking him as his country’s best player of the tournament so far.

The Sporting Lisbon player was in fine form in the opening match against South Africa, scoring once in a 3-1 win but has suffered a muscle injury which has limited his minutes on the pitch, per Sport24.

Besides the knock to Yaya Toure as previous mentioned, Ivory Coast’s main concern revolves around Eric Bailly who was injured and substituted in the match against Cameroon, per WhoScored.

This game is very difficult to call but if the Elephants hit their top form, they will be difficult to beat.

Wilfried Bony is yet to score in the tournament—after his multi-million pound move to Manchester City—and it can only be a matter of time before he finds the net.

But much depends on Yaya. He is the leader of this Ivory Coast team, and without his full involvement they will find it difficult to progress.

Algeria are a plucky side and will feel they can take care of business on Sunday night.

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