Leopard in winner-takes-all clash
FIXTURE: R. Bamako vs Royal Leopard VENUE: Stade du 26 Mars, Mali
TIME: 6pm
MBABANE – Royal Leopard’s bid to conquer Africa continues away in Mali this evening.
Stade du 26 Mars, which is located in the southern neighbourhoods of Bamako, Mali, will be home for the decisive TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup play-off second leg clash, between visiting Royal Leopard and the hosts AS Real de BamIt as
ako. serves a home ground f o r domestic football club Stade Malien and is the national stadium. It has a capacity of 50 000.
The Eswatini envoys, who are in chase of a second straight appearance in the group stages, reportedly had a frustrating journey to Mali after being stranded for more than six hours in Johannesburg, South Africa, before connecting a flight late on Monday night to their final destination. In this
TEAMS PROFILES
LEOPARD
CAF Ranking – 54th
Key players – Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini, Junior Magagula, Thami Zulu
JOURNEY TO PLAY-OFFS:
CAF Champions League
First round (Preliminary)
CFFA 2-3 Leopard
Leopard 2-1 CFFA
(Leopard won 5-3 on aggregate)
Second round (Preliminary) Leopard 1-1 Coton Sport
Coton Sport 2-1 Leopard
(Coton Sport won 3-2 on aggregate) Play-off first leg
Leopard 1-1 Real Bamako
POSSIBLE STARTING XI:
LEOPARD
1. Ncamiso ‘Mbhonyo’ Dlamini
2. Mlamuli Msibi
3. Mancoba Maseko
4. Linda Mbuli
5. Thami Zulu
6. Mzwandile Mabelesa
7. Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini
8. Menzi Sithole
9. Lungelo Tsabedze
10. Sifiso Matse
11. Senzelwe Dlamini
winner-takes-all clash, they have to rise above these challenges to get a ticket to the group stages. After a 1-all draw in the first leg at Somhlolo National Stadium last week, the message is loud and clear for the police outfit; they should score as many goals as possible while tightening the backdoor. While an unanswered goal will be enough for Leopard
RS BAMAKO:
CAF Ranking – 41st
Key players – Moussa Kone, Ismael Bamba, Chieckna Diakite
JOURNEY TO PLAY-OFFS
CAF Confederation Cup
First round (Preliminary)
De Ouagadougou 0-0 Real Bamako
Real Bamako 0-0 D. de Ouagadougou (Bamako won 3-1 on penalties)
Second round (preliminary)
Real Bamako 3-1 Hearts of Oak Hearts of Oak 1-0 Bamako
(Bamako won 3-1 on aggregate)
Play-off first leg
Leopard 1-1 Real Bamako
to go through, they can still survive with a draw if they score more than once.
Coach Edwin Matsebula is expected to unleash the best from his arsenal and the return from suspension of seasoned forward Sifiso Matse is a timely boost. The likes of skipper Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini, Fanelo Tsabedze, Senzelwe Dlamini and Ghana-born import Arthur Richard will provide more attacking options.
For the home team, they would be buoyed by their impressive defensive record after conceding three goals since the start of the tournament. In prolific forward Moussa Kone, they have an ace up their sleeve. Both sides do not need motivation ahead of what promises to be a pulsating clash and qualifying for the group stages comes with a cash reward of about E5 million.