KHARTOUM – Egyptian giants Al-Ahly finished preparations in readiness for their match against Al-Hilal of Sudan in the CAF Champions League group stage on Saturday at 3:00pm Cairo Local Time.
The record African champions eyeing a record extending 11th CAF Champions League crown, after the end of their FIFA Club World Cup campaign.
Ahly finished fourth in the global showpiece held in Morocco and will now switch their energies to reclaim the African title they lost to Wydad Club of Morocco last season.
The Red Devils are playing Al-Hilal in Khartoum for a second consecutive season in Group B. Last season, they drew 0-0 in the first-leg in Omdurman and won the return tie 1-0 in Cairo.
Al-Hilal started their group phase hunt with a slim 1-0 loss away to Mamelodi Sundowns last week.
Meanwhile, Sundowns are travelling up to Cameroon to take on Coton Sport who just like Ahly are playing their opening match of the group stage.
Sundowns are keen to continue their winning run having enjoyed home victory last weekend, but Coton Sport will offer an entirely different challenge.
Meanwhile in Tanzania, Raja Club Athletic who started their campaign with an emphatic 5-0 thrashing of Ugandan debutants Vipers will take on Simba SC in what is expected to be an explosive encounter in Dar es Salaam.
The build up to the tie, on and off the pitch has been huge, with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan promising a cash reward for every goal scored by Simba in their encounter with Raja.
Simba started their campaign with a 2-0 loss away to Guinea’s Horoya, but it is a match they feel they should have walked out with something looking at the myriad of chances they created.
An area they will most certainly work on is their finishing.
“We know that Raja is a huge club, but Simba is also a huge club. We respect them but they will be coming to our home and when we play in our home,” said Simba’s coach Roberto Oliveira,
“we always look to get the three points. I trust my players and I trust that we will make our fans happy,” added Oliveira ahead of the tie.
Meanwhile, Oliveira’s immediate former employers Vipers SC will look for home comfort to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Raja. They will welcome Guinea’s Horoya to their St. Mary’s backyard.
In other fixtures, Algeria’s CR Belouizdad will be the host of what is expected to be a mouth watering clash when they take on Tunisian giants Esperance.
Today’s fixtures
Al-Hilal – Sudan vs Al-Ahly – Egypt
Vipers – Uganda vs Horoya – Guinea
Simba – Tanzania vs Raja – Morocco
Vita Club – DR Congo vs Petro Atletico – Angola
Belouizdad – Algeria vs Esperance – Tunisia
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