Previous clashes w ith Sundow ns

The Brazilians first me t the Sudanese outfit during the 2008 e dit ion of t he competition in the round be fore t he group st age s. Al Hilal came out tops, winning the first le g clash 4-2. Downs won the re t urn le g at home 1-0, but it was not e nough t o se e t he m t hrough. The ir pat hs t he n crosse d in 2020/21, t his time in the group stage . Sundowns won 2-0 at home , wit h t he game in Omdurman e nding goalle ss. Last se ason, t he t wo side s ye t again me t in t he group st age . The Mzansi giant s be at Hilal 1-0 in t he group ope ne r at a bumpy Royal Bafoke ng St adium pit ch, court e sy of a The mba Zwane goal, although the visitors we re unfort unat e t o have what looke d like a le git imat e e qualise r lat e on rule d out for a foul on De nis Onyango in the le ad-up to the goal, although the big ke e pe r looke d t o have fumble d a cross. In the re turn fix ture , 10-man Downs hamme re d the ir opponents 4-2 in Khartoum, with Pe t e r Shalulile , Te boho Mokoe na (magnifice nt long-range e ffort ) and Thape lo More na (brace ) ge t t ing t he goals.

Keymen

Coache d by we ll-known me ntor Flore nt Ibe nge , the Sudane se champions re ce ntly acquire d the se rvice s of DRC int e rnat ional Fabrice Ngoma, who was pre viously linke d with Kaize r Chie fs. Goalke e pe r Abdallah Abu-Eshre in has conce de d one goal in this se ason’s Champions Le ague and his e x pe rie nce will be important for the side as the y make an e ffort to go be yond the group st age .