PREVIEW: Revenge, a budding winning streak at stake as Super Eagles 'go again' at Algeria

The barely-a-year-old Miloud Hadefi Olympic Stadium in Oran will on Tuesday, be choked with flying flags and loud chants as it welcomes the Super Eagles of Nigeria and their hosts, Algeria.

The friendly, scheduled as part of preparations to get both teams in shape for the continuation of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers next year, will see the Super Eagles get a shot at getting a pound of flesh from their Algerian counterparts.

Algeria at the 2019 AFCON, defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the semifinal en route to the final where they coasted to their second continental title at the expense of Senegal.

Although Nigeria recently played out a 2-2 draw with Algeria's team B, the test match is not being regarded as an official friendly.

The Super Eagles will officially head into this match on the back of a two-game winning streak following a 2-1 AFCON qualifying victory over Sierra Leone and a record-breaking 10-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe in June this year.

Algeria on the other hand, have won seven of their last eight games, losing 2-1 (after extra time) to Cameroon in one - the most important game which could have seen them play in Qatar this year.

On a head-to-head basis, both Algeria and the Super Eagles have won nine of their previous matches while drawing the other three.

Already, the Super Eagles and Algeria know that Tuesday's encounter might as well be regarded as a 'dead rubber', leading to the possibility of this encounter producing no fireworks.

Ahead of the game, the three-time African champions who have already lost two players to injury - Wilfred Ndidi and William Troost-Ekong - since head coach Jose Peseiro opened camp in Constantine, will want to ensure most players return to their club sides in good conditions.

Prior to these two, five more who got called up for the friendly including Ahmed Musa, Samuel Chukwueze, Leon Balogun, Henry Onyekuru, and Emmanuel Dennis, had already withdrawn due to injury concerns.

Asides from the injury worries for the Super Eagles, the fact that both Nigeria and Algeria failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, gifting the tickets to Ghana and Cameroon, somewhat, waters down this arguably anticipated game.

In the absence of injured strikers Victor Osimhen and Umar Sadiq, Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi will look to step into the shoes left in his stead.

Also on the prowl for the Super Eagles will be high-flying Premier League player-of-the-month nominated Everton midfielder, Alex Iwobi.

On the other half, Riyad Mahrez will be hoping for a deja vu after he inflicted pain on the Super Eagles at the AFCON in 2019.

Djamel Belmadi will also look to count on the experience of AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer and Villarreal's Aissa Mandi as they look to continue from where they left off in the 1-0 win over Guinea on Friday.