The Wallias of Ethiopian will take on Seychelles the coming Saturday in their second match of the 2017 Gabon African Cup of Nation qualifiers.

As part of the preparation for the Seychelles first leg the Ethiopian national team had their international friendly against Rwanda in Kigali in which the Ethiopian side conceded a 3-1 defeat by the home side.

This was not seen as a good trend for the national team but the coach however Yohanes Sahile expressed confidence that his side would be strengthened in their qualifier against Seychelles.

"The result earned in the international friendly was not that good. What was important in that game was the lesson we have taken from that performance. We have seen our weak points and definitely we will make amends," Yohanes said. The coach further said that all his players are ready to face Seychelles.

The match between Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire will be played in the Nigerian city of Lagos as Sierra Leone are banned from hosting matches at home due to the Ebola crisis.

The Ethiopian national side began their campaign of the 2017 Gabon African Cup of Nation qualifiers with a 2-1 win over Lesotho at Bahir Dar stadium in June.

Algeria, the top-ranked African team, scored twice in each half to win 4-0 over the visitors Seychelles in Group J, with El-Arbi Hillel Soudani claiming two goals.

According to this result Algeria remain on top of Group J on three points and four goals while Ethiopia are second on equal three points. The two are separated by goal difference. Lesotho and Seychelles are third and fourth without a point, respectively.

The qualifiers that began in June marked the opening salvoes in the 18-month preliminary campaign to determine 15 places at the next finals in Gabon. Each of the 13 group winners qualify along with the two best placed runners-up.