Mamelodi Sundowns and Stade Malien clash at Loftus tonight, with the return leg set for Bamako on Sunday, March 22.
Masandawana will be looking to progress to their third consecutive final of the continental competition, after being runners-up last year to Pyramids FC.
The Chloorkop side are coming up against the surprise package of the tournament so far, with Malien topping Group D ahead of the more fancied African giants Esperance de Tunis.
“We need to approach this [CAF] Champions League round with Stade Malien in between until the [FIFA] break with all the players available, so that we can have the highest power,” said Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso ahead of the match.
READ: Mamelodi Sundowns Maintain Title Push After Beating Orbit College
“We knew that we wanted to spare players [against Orbit College], especially the ones in the front that can give a lot, like Arthur [Sales], Nuno [Santos], Tashreeq [Matthews], Iqraam [Rayners], Brayan [Leon], and Saleng. But we could not spare all of them.”
Stade Malien are making their first appearance at the group stage and knockout stage of the CAF Champions League and are looking to continue rewriting history by winning the title on the first attempt.