Staff Reporter.
There are so many sideshows to the CAF Champions League Group A clash between Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Saturday.
First and foremost it is a chance for three vital points in the pool, where both sides have made a mediocre start.
Sundowns rode their luck a little in seeing off Al Hilal at home in their first match and were then wasteful in their 0-0 draw with another Sudanese side, Al Merreikh, at the very same Al Salam Stadium this past weekend.
The match was played on neutral territory as Al Merreikh’s home venue in Omdurman was banned by the Confederation of African Football.
But Ahly did travel to Sudan for their pool opener against Al Hilal, which ended in a tepid 0-0 draw. The Egyptians are behind in terms of matches in the group because they skipped the first round while competing at the 2022 Fifa Club World Cup, where they picked up the bronze medal.
Both clubs will be a little underwhelmed by their start, but know this is a massive opportunity for three huge points in the pool. A win for Ahly would cement their status as top dogs in the group, but victory for Sundowns would send a massive statement to the rest of the field.
There is also the potential for Ahly forward Percy Tau to go up against his former employers for what would surely be an emotional outing for him.
He still has deep friendships in the Sundowns camp and at the pomp of his time with the club it seemed inconceivable he would wear another team’s colours against them.
Tau has been missing since mid-January with injury, but Ahly have said he is “95 per cent ready” to play on the weekend, though that could also be mind-games as they know what psychological effect it will have on the Sundowns players to see the Bafana Bafana star among the opposition.
“Percy Tau is 95 per cent per cent ready for the Sundowns game,” Al Ahly director of football Sayed Abdelhafiz told the club’s TV channel. “We have important games against Sundowns and Al-Merreikh in the Champions League, we need our players to be ready by then.
“We have the motive to go for the third consecutive CAF Champions League title, no one has ever done it before.”
Meanwhile AmaZulu FC will square off with two-time winners ES Setif in a CAF Champions League Group B match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday.
Usuthu are coming into the encounter undefeated in their last two matches including their first-ever win in the Champions League stage when they defeated Guinea’s Horoya AC 1-0 last week Friday.
The KwaZulu-Natal giants are currently placed third on the group standings – level on points with second-placed Setif and three points behind leaders, Raja Casablanca of Morocco.
Setif have been inconsistent having recorded their second defeat in their last three competitive matches when they succumbed to a 1-0 loss to Raja in a Group B game last week Friday.