By Durosimi Thomas BBC Sport, Tunis

Lemerre expects a tough contest against Guinea

Tunisian coach Roger Lemerre has included seven uncapped players in the squad for next week's friendly at home to Guinea.

But players from Esperance will not feature in the match on 20 August because they have a Champions League assignment two days later.

Despite the absence of Esperance players, the squad is still dominated by home-based players.

At a press conference in Tunis on Monday, Lemerre said all players included in the squad are there on merit.

Every match like this gives you an indication of how the team is doing Roger Lemerre

The Ajax full-back Hatem Trabelsi, who is reportedly keen on a move to English Premiership champions Manchester United, is one of eight foreign-based players called up.

Lemerre said the upcoming friendly will help him assess the progress Tunisia have made in recent months.

"Every match like this gives you an indication of how the team is doing ahead of the main mission.

"Guinea have qualified for the Nations Cup and they are the kind of opponents we're looking for.

"I think it's not a secret that they qualified from a difficult group and deserve to be in the finals (in Tunisia)."