Champions League: AS FAR welcomes Sundowns to consolidate its leadership, Raja seeks its first points in Kinshasa

Champions League: AS FAR welcomes Sundowns to consolidate its leadership, Raja seeks its first points in Kinshasa
Champions League: AS FAR welcomes Sundowns to consolidate its leadership, Raja seeks its first points in Kinshasa

After recovering second place in the general classification of the Bottle Pro You D1thanks to the cardboard recorded facing the JSS (3-0), l’AS FAR turns his viewfinder towards the Champions League this weekend. The Military will cross swords with the Mamelodi Sundownsthis Saturday from 8 p.m., for the second day of the group stage of the African C1.

Leader of group B thanks to his victory against Raja of Casablanca (2-0), the capital club will approach this meeting with full of confidence, after having regained second place in the Botola Pro Inwi D1 last weekend. The teammates ofAhmed Hammoudane have finally managed to find the right rhythm with their new coach, Hubert Veludwho is undefeated in the last 3 matches with theAS FAR. A second victory in a row will guarantee first place in the group for the Military, but it will still be necessary to have a team which has accumulated great experience in the Champions League over the last decade. Winners of the trophy in 2016, the South Africans have become regulars in the last four and will battle to eliminate one of the two representatives of Morocco in Group B. They should therefore aim for at least a draw this weekend in El Jadida, knowing that they had also shared the points with the Maniema Union Sports Association on the first day (0-0).

Twelve decisive days for Raja in the Champions League

Forced to evolve on the move during the next two days in Champions Leaguethe Raja began a long journey to sub-Saharan Africa last Wednesday. The RCA will have to negotiate two difficult meetings in the Democratic Republic of Congo and then in South Africa. This Saturday, Zerhouni and company will play in Kinshasa, where they will respond to theManiema Union Sports AssociationSaturday from 2 p.m. Leader of group B of the DRC first division championship (Linafoot), Maniema had managed to muzzle the attackers of the Mamelodi Sundowns during the first day (0-0). The Congolese club will be even more imposing on its bases on Saturday against Raja. The Eagles will also have to deal with climatic conditions favorable to the hosts, with a very high humidity level and stifling heat at 2 p.m., without forgetting the famous synthetic turf of Kinshasa. Beaten on the first day, the Greens cannot risk a second consecutive setback, at the risk of jeopardizing their chances of qualifying for the next round. To strengthen its chances of qualifying for the next round, the RCA will therefore have to bring back at least 4 points from this African journey, i.e. a victory and a draw. The club recorded its very first victory under the orders of Ricardo Sa Pinto last weekend, against Hassania d’Agadir (3-1), after five consecutive draws. The results of the next two matches will also chart the future of Portuguese technician Sa Pinto with the Greens. Just after this meeting, the Raja delegation will head to South Africa, where they will be awaited by Mamelodi Sundowns on the third day of the group stage (Sunday December 15 at 2 p.m.). The Greens will face Rulani Mokwena’s former club for the first time in their history in the Champions League, unlike Wydad who had crossed swords with this club almost ten times. Also note that the club should benefit from the services of all of its players during this trip, with the return from injury of Mohamed Zrida and the Mauritanian Mouhcine Bodda.


Morocco

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