Hosts seek to mute Le Roy

Equatorial Guinea and Congo Brazzaville get the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations underway on Saturday in a Group A clash at Estadio de Bata.

The game will mark the start of a hastily arranged Africa Cup that Equatorial Guinea opted to host at the eleventh hour after Ebola fears by previous hosts Morocco.

There is an expected air of animosity heading into the match between the two sides after Congo Brazzaville coach Claude Le Roy’s criticism about the state of facilities, especially the quality of accommodation by the host nation.

"I'm not disappointed, that's what I was expecting. I don't want a big five-star hotel. I just want something very clean," Le Roy said.

Le Roy, though, will be hoping that the sideshow will not distract his players from why they are really in Equatorial Guinea.

He also travels to the tournament with players who will all be making their Africa Cup debuts. Congo return to the tournament for the first time since 2000 when they made a group stage exit in Nigeria with one point.

However, the much-travelled Frenchman will be making his eighth tournament outing after leading six teams. His highlight was winning the trophy with Cameroon in 1988.

Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea return to the tournament for the first time since co-hosting the event in 2012 when they reached the quarterfinals.

The hosts also head into the tournament with a brand new coach after Argentine Esteban Becker was appointed two weeks before the tournament following the dismissal of Spaniard Andoni Goikoetxea.

Becker is not new to the hosts after leading the female side to victory at the 2012 African Women’s Championship and has also been the local FA's technical director for the last three years.

The pressure is on Becker to emulate Brazilian-born coach Gilson Paulo who kicked off the 2012 tournament with a 1-0 win over Libya at the same venue.

However, Equatorial Guinea have never beaten Congo after losing all three previous meetings.