The Black Stars on Thursday, March 23, will take on the Palancas Negras of Angola at the Baba Yara Stadium for the first leg of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations doubleheader at 4pm kick-off time.
Chris Hughton currently has a full house after the arrival of Abdul Salis Samed who was delayed at the French Airport on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
The former Newcastle United manager has already declined to comment about his possible line-up as he stated that Ghanaians will get to know about the players who will start the game at 3pm.
As we await the official line-up, GhanaWeb Sports has put together a probable line-up for the Black Stars.
In a 4-2-3-1 formation, this is how we believe Chris Hughton will line-up today, March 23, 2023, against the Palancas Negras.
Lawrence Ati-Zigi
Lawrence Ati Zigi had a decent campaign in the World Cup in the absence of Jojo Wallacott and Richard Ofori is expected to continue in post.
Daniel Amartey and Alexander Djiku
With Mohammed Salisu's fitness issues, Alexdanare Djiku is surely the person who will pair Leicester City's Daniel Amartey in the central defensive roles for the Black Stars against Angola.
Alexander Djiku was arguably Ghana's best player in the disastrous 2021 AFCON campaign but his game time in the Black Stars has been limited since the arrival of Mohammed Salisu.
The Strasbourg defender is second in the pecking order and will step in if Mohammed Salisu is not fit to play and Chris Hughton is not opting to go with the three-back system.
Dennis Odoi and Gideon Mensah
With Tariq Lamptey, Alidu Seidu, and Abdul Baba Rahman all out of the squad due to various degrees of injuries, the left-back and right-back roles will be shared between Dennis Odoi and Gideon Mensah.
Dennis Odoi did not feature in the World Cup but Gideon Mensah played twice in the win against South Korea and defeat to Uruguay in the final group game on Friday, December 2, 2022.
Abdul Salis Samed and Thomas Partey
The duo started against Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay in the 2022 World Cup and seem to have formed some decent partnership.
Both are having exceptional seasons in the French League and Premier League for RC Lens and Arsenal respectively and will be good for the team to have them in the game.
Salis arrived late in camp but according to reports, he played on the same side with Thomas Partey during training and it is very likely that he will start the game alongside the deputy captain
Jordan Ayew, Mohammed Kudus, and Joseph Paintsil
Jordan Ayew from the training sessions will start at the right side of Ghana's attack as it has been his favorite position in the Black Stars for the last couple of years.
Mohammed Kudus might get to play in his favorite number 10 role as reports from the training sessions suggest that captain Andre Dede Ayew might start the game from the bench.
The in-form Joseph Paintsil might get his chance to start the game from the left side of the attack.
Jordan Ayew and Inaki Williams are having a goal drought in the ongoing season and many will be counting on Mohammed Kudus and Joseph Paintsil who have scored more than 20 goals combined in the ongoing season to do the job against Angola.
Inaki Williams
The 28-year-old Spanish-born striker has so far featured 6 times for Ghana against Brazil, Nicaragua, Switzerland, Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay.
However, he will still start the game ahead of Antoine Semenyo who is the direct competitor to Inaki Williams.
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Black Stars striker, Antoine Semenyo
