Tunisia coach Georges Leekens has said he expects his team's fighting spirit to get them past DR Congo in their final Africa Cup of Nations Group B match on Monday.

The Carthage Eagles are top of Group B with four points from two matches and only need a draw with the Leopards to reach the last eight of the competition.

"DR Congo are fast, athletic and strong. We are a more technical team," said veteran Belgian coach Leekens.

"My players are professionals, not the best players in the world, but they have a very good fighting spirit, they will give everything until the end.

"I respect them because they are losing money by agreeing to come down here to play for their country and the people of Tunisia have confidence in them."

He added: "This is a very important match for our qualification and it will be a tough game, but DRC have to win and we want to win and we won't risk it."

Leekens' side arrived in Bata after previously being based in the remote outpost of Ebebiyin for their first two matches.

Tunisia are looking to win the Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 but their 65-year-old coach warned it is not always the best team who go through in any competition.

"It is not always the best teams who progress. For instance, Senegal were the best team during our qualifiers, but we ended up winning the group by a point," he said.

"I believe in hard work and not too much talk."

Tunisia have won five of their previous 10 meetings against DR Congo, drawing two and losing three.

Their last clash at this level was 10 years ago when they played out a 2-2 draw in a friendly in France, while Tunisia won 3-0 at the 2004 Nations Cup, which they hosted.