Record champions Al-Ahly and Morocco’s Raja Casablanca face off in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League for a second consecutive season, after the two North African giants were paired in Wednesday evening’s draw.
The two sides also faced off at the same stage last season with the Egyptians winning 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 victory at home and a 1-1 draw in Casablanca.
Raja, who are unbeaten in the competition this season, will be out to exact revenge on Ahly, who squeezed through to the last eight on the last day of the group stages.
Ahly will host the first leg in Cairo.
Meanwhile, defending champions Wydad Casablanca will face off with Tanzanian side Simba SC, with the first leg set to be staged in Dar es Salaam.
Simba will be familiar with the surroundings in Casablanca, as they face off with Wydad’s arch-nemesis Raja in the group stages, losing 3-1.
The last meeting between these two sides was in the 2011 season in a special play-off match, Wydad winning 3-0.
In other fixtures, 2016 champions Mamelodi Sundowns will continue their campaign for a second title with the first leg of their quarter final in Algeria against CR Belouizdad.
Another Algerian side, JS Kabylie, will host Esperance of Tunisia in the first leg of the fourth quarter final duel, another enticing North African duel.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for the weekend of April 21-22 and the return fixtures a week later.
The semis will be played on May 12-13 with the second leg a week later.
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