Downs, Wydad set for another thriller
Pitso demands more steel from his side at home
The last time Mamelodi Sundowns faced Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca there was little to separate the two teams.
Their meeting at Lucas Moripe Stadium tomorrow night (9pm) promises to be another close CAF Champions League encounter.
The Brazilians and the north Africans met in the quarterfinals over two legs last year, with
Wydad prevailing on penalties
and they were eventually crowned champions. Both teams won 1-0 in their own back yards before spot-kicks decided the outcome in Morocco. Since winning Africa’s premium club competition, Wydad endured some struggles at home. Between December and early February, they lost six out of eight matches, but have since recovered. From midFebruary until now, they have 10 victories in 15 matches in their domestic league and CAF Champions League, drawing four and losing just one.
“They beat us on penalties but we should have wrapped up the game in the first leg, were it not for the assistant referee wrongly flagging Percy Tau for offside,” Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane said. “They struggled a bit last year but they have a new coach [Faouzi Benzarti].
“We have to start winning at home. Last year, we won more matches away, but in 2016 we won all our home games, scoring two goals in each. We have to bring that back.”
Tau is suspended and Mosimane indicated that Khama Billiat would take over the role of striker tomorrow.
Sundowns and Wydad are favourites to progress from Group C. The other teams are Horoya from Guinea and Togolese outfit Togo Port. –