Who are the key players?

Al Ahly

Mohammed El Shenawy is a man for all seasons, tall, acrobatic, solid and stronger than the Berlin Wall. He has tamed attackers considered more potent than poison and is still standing to tell the tale. Hussein El Shahat operates as a winger or converts to an attacking midfielder or what is sometimes called a number 10 or false nine. Fast, tricky and very creative. He is the heartbeat of this Ahly side and some prefer to describe him as the heart and soul of the Red Devils. Ahmed Abdelkader is another attacking midfielder that is more comfortable operating from the left where he is very effective and is most deceptive by pretending to be lackadaisical, which in reality is a ploy to lull opponents into a false sense of security. If a defence falls into the trap, he pounces suddenly and without warning.

Sundowns

Ronwen Williams has easily mastered the role of keepersweeper. But in addition, he is the fulcrum of the Downs movements and for a goalkeeper, his passing is ex cellent as he is the focal point of starting every movement, while his handling is safe as well. Few people ex pected Teboho Mokoena to play at the star-studded outfit, but the lad has taken control of the engine room and even dislodged veteran campaigner Andile Jali from the anchor role. Strong, powerful both attacking or defending and you can rest assured that he will be calling the shots from the centre on Saturday night. Neo Maema appeared like a scrawny kid from Bloemfontein and one wondered if he was brought in to polish the boots of the more established players, but he has proven himself to be a special player with special talents and scores beautiful goals on his day. His telepathy with the Downs forwards ia a marvel to watch.