FIVE ALGERIANS WHO COULD HURT NIGERIA.

1.Nabil bentaleb

 With five goals in his last five matches for Schalke, where he is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, Bentaleb is enjoying a purple patch of form and will head into the Nigeria match high on confidence. The Super Eagles would do well to deny Bentaleb goalscoring opportunities in the middle of the pitch and Gernot Rohr should ensure his players ignore the 21-year-old's attempted mind games.

2.Yacine bahimi.

 Having dropped out of the starting XI under Milovan Rajevac, Brahimi may well see the arrival of Georges Leekens as an opportunity to reestablish himself as a key man for the Desert Foxes, as he was-with some distinction-during the 2014 World Cup. The injury to Ryad Boudebouz means that Brahimi may well be the key creative influence against Nigeria.

3.Sofiane feghouli.

Another player who had fallen from grace during the final days of the Rajevac era. On his day, he's an intelligent operator between the lines who offers an aerial threat, although he's not really hit the ground running since swapping Valencia for West Ham United during the summer. Could he be another who is revitalised by the change of regime in the Algeria camp?

4.Riyad mahrez.

The current Algerian Footballer of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year is definitely the Desert Foxes' star, with his deft touches able to cause considerable trouble if left to roam freely. Nigeria’s technical crew must devise a way to cut off the supply line to Mahrez, or else the Eagles' right-back-whoever that may be-could be in for a testing outing!

5.Islam slimani. Even without El Arabi Hillel Soudani, Algeria boast a fearsome offensive threat through Slimani, who is a lethal operator in front of goal. There have been encouraging signs from Slimani since he moved to Leicester City, having bagged an astonishing 27 goals for Sporting Lisbon last term. With Algeria, he's scored an eye-opening nine goals in his last nine outings, and be it as a poacher, or as a more physical frontman, he will be a real handful for the Eagles and their stand-in goalkeeper.