It’s been a disappointing week for all South African football lovers who witnessed our national team fail to qualify for yet another major tournament after losing 2-0 to Sudan. Now, as part of revenge, we get to send our fiercest club to the North East of Africa where Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Al-Hilal Omdurman in Sudan.
Elsewhere, Kaizer Chiefs get to avenge their 4-0 defeat against Wydad Casablanca when they host the Moroccan champions this weekend. Lastly, Al Ahli Benghazi host Orlando Pirates in matchday three of their CAF Confederations Cup group stage encounter.
Friday 2 April
Al-Hilal Omdurman vs Mamelodi Sundowns (18:00)
Mamelodi Sundowns will be looking to complete the double over Sudan’s Al-Hilal Omdurman after putting their North East African rivals to the sword in Pretoria. After winning in Lubumbashi and Algeria, Sundowns will be confident of overcoming any hurdle set by Al-Hilal. The hosts are yet to pick up their first win in the CAF Champions League group stages thus far, holding TP Mazembe and CR Belouizdad to a goalless draw at home. Sundowns should win this fairly comfortably.
Saturday 3 April
Kaizer Chiefs vs Wydad Casablanca (18:00)
The common belief among football supporters seem to be that Kaizer Chiefs have been doing relatively well in the CAF Champions League. However, in their previous tie against Wydad Casablanca, the Glamour Boys were battered 4-0 in Morocco. Since then, Chiefs have gone on to beat Petro de Luanda and held the same opposition to a goalless draw in Angola. Wydad, on the other hand, are unbeaten in the tournament so far and more impressively, are yet to concede a single goal. I expect Wydad to win this one as well.
Sunday 4 April
Al Ahli Benghazi vs Orlando Pirates (21:00)
The first of Orlando Pirates’ double header with Al Ahli Benghazi will be played in Libya as Josef Zinnbauer’s charges look to keep their unbeaten run intact. After two matches, Pirates earned a goalless draw at ES Setif before humbling Enyimba to a 2-1 defeat back in Soweto. For the hosts, they’ve managed to get three points after two games, beating ES Setif on home soil after losing 2-1 in Nigeria to Enyimba. On paper, Pirates are slight favourites, but I think they’ll return home with just a point here.
Written by Jesse Nagel