Moroccan Wydad will try to overcome its disappointment in the Club World Cup when it opens the journey to defend its continental title, when it is a heavy guest on JS Kabylie on Friday at the “5 July” stadium in the capital, Algiers, in the first group of CAF Champions League.
Wydad bid farewell to the World Cup clubs at home early, after being eliminated by Al Hilal Saudi Arabia with a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.
Criticism surrounds his Tunisian coach, Mahdi Al-Nafti, as he will be required to win after a series of results that do not satisfy the aspirations of the “people of Al-Hamra”.
Al-Nafiti hopes that his elements will be at the height of giving, especially the leader Yahya Gibran and the full-back Yahya Atiyatallah, after their level contradicted the Qatar World Cup when they contributed to the “Atlas Lions” team reaching the semi-finals, then retreated in the Club World Cup, and he also relies on the solidity of the defense line that received one goal. in the last eight games.
Wydad will miss its Algerian defender, Al-Hussein Bin Ayada, due to the injury, and there are doubts about the participation of winger Zuhair Al-Metraji for the same reason.
For his part, the “Canary” is looking forward to exploiting the ground and public factors to undermine its strong guest, after it returned with a valuable negative draw from the land of its Angolan host Petro Atletico in the first round, while the Wydad confrontation with the Congolese Vita Club, who meets Sunday with Petro Atletico, was postponed.
Untie the blue knot
Al-Ahly, the runner-up of the last edition, begins its campaign by facing Al-Hilal on Saturday at the “Blue Jewel” stadium in the second group competitions, in a match that will be held without fans due to the decision of the African Union for the game (K) “because the stadium facilities do not meet the conditions for receiving fans.”
Al-Ahly was absent from the first round, as it was scheduled to host Coton Sport of Cameroon, due to its association with the Club World Cup, and Al-Ahly came fourth in it.
Al-Ahly’s task will not be easy, as it was unable to beat its host in five previous confrontations, so they tied four times and Al-Hilal won one.
On the other hand, Al-Hilal seeks to compensate for its loss in the first round against the South African Sundowns (0-1), with a victory that will bring it back to the competition for the top of the group and qualify for the quarter-finals.
Meeting the wounded
And in the “Group of Death”, there is another “Sudanese-Egyptian” derby meeting, as Zamalek is looking for compensation when it is a guest on Mars, while Tunisian Esperance collides with its neighbor, the Algerian youth of Belouizdad.
In the face of the two wounded, Zamalek will be a guest on Mars on Friday at the “Martyrs of Benina” stadium in the Libyan city of Benghazi, which is approved as a land for the Sudanese team.
Zamalek and Al-Merrikh had lost their inaugural meeting, with one score, zero-1, the first at home to the Algerian youth of Belouizdad, and the second to its host, the Tunisian Esperance.
It is the first time that the two teams have met in African club competitions.
In a Maghreb “derby”, Belouizdad will host Esperance at the “5 July” stadium. The latter’s coach, Nabil Maaloul, considered that his team focuses a lot on confronting Belouizdad’s youth, describing it as “very difficult,” considering that “the group is difficult and will be open, and the team that is good at winning away from home will have an advantage.”
Belouizdad hopes to continue its good results locally and continually, and to win the three points, relying on its strong squad led by Tunisian coach Nabil El Kouki.
Please confirm his strong start
After its strong appearance in the first round, when it swept the Ugandan Vipers 5-0, Moroccan Raja Casablanca seeks to continue its strong start despite its difficult mission against its host Simba Tanzanian in Dar es Salaam in Group C.
The “Green Eagle” is suffering from great difficulties, the first of which is the team’s arduous journey to Tanzania and flying for long hours, leading to the Tunisian coach Mounzer Al-Kabir’s lack of several elements, in addition to the very hot weather.
According to the Tanzanian media, the country’s president, Samia Solho Hassan, decided to motivate the club financially and allocated a large reward for winning over Raja and going far in the competition.
France 24/AFP
