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Arab teams are looking to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds of the African Champions League, when the second round of the group stage of the competition begins on Friday.

The opening round witnessed a difference in the results of the eight Arab clubs participating in the continental championship, whose title remained exclusive to the teams of the Arab world during the last seven editions.

While the teams of Al-Ahly of Egypt, Esperance of Tunisia, and CS Belouizdad of Algeria revealed their teeth early, after achieving great and valuable victories over their rivals, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco shocked its fans after receiving a sudden loss in front of its fans, which may have complicated its position in its group early.

The Egyptian Pyramids also achieved victory in their first appearance in their history during the group stage of the most important and strongest tournament at the club level in the African continent, while the Sudanese Al Hilal, the Mauritanian Nouadhibou, and the Tunisian Etoile du Sahel were defeated in the first round.

The match between Al Hilal and its guest Esperance in the third group attracts the attention of the Arab fans, as the two teams seek to obtain the three points.

Esperance, which has 4 titles in the tournament, began its campaign in the group with a 2-0 win over its guest and compatriot Etoile du Sahel, on Saturday, to lead the group standings with 3 points, ahead by a single goal over its closest rivals, Pietro Atletico of Angola, who is on par with them on the same score, which It defeated its guest Al Hilal 1-0 in the first round.

The confrontations between Al Hilal and Esperance are always characterized by excitement and competition. They previously met in 6 matches in the Champions League, during which the Tunisian team achieved 3 victories, compared to two victories for its Sudanese counterpart, while the only match was tied.

According to the German News Agency, this is the first confrontation between the two teams in the tournament in more than 12 years, when they met in the semi-finals of the 2011 edition of the competition, which witnessed Esperance winning 1-0 in the first leg in Sudan, and 2-0 in the return in Tunisia, to advance to the final at that time. He won his second Champions League title at that time.

For its part, Etoile du Sahel, which won the championship cup in 2007, hopes to compensate for its loss in its first match against Esperance, when it hosts Pietro Atletico, who is hoping to get a positive result from its visit to Tunisian territory.

This match brings to mind the confrontation between the two teams in the African Confederation Cup final in 1997, in which the star was crowned champion at the expense of Petro Atletico, after a 2-1 victory over its Angolan counterpart in the aggregate of the two-legged and return matches.

Wydad Casablanca, runner-up in the last edition of the tournament, aspires to regain its balance again, when it goes out to meet its host, ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, in the second group, which witnesses another confrontation between Guaneng Galaxy of Botswana and its guest, Simba of Tanzania.

Wydad is at the bottom of the standings with no points, following its sudden 0-1 loss to its guest Guaneng Galaxy, who currently sits at the top with 3 points, two points ahead of ASEC and Simba, who shared second place after their 1-1 draw in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, in the first round. .

Wydad, which won the Champions League in 1992, 2017 and 2022, has been experiencing a state of instability recently. His defeat to Guaneng came days after he lost the final of the first edition of the African League Championship to Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa.

The Moroccan team will also face ASEC, the winner of the Champions League in 1998, after suffering a harsh 1-3 loss to its host, the Royal Army, in its last match in the local league, on Tuesday.

Wydad must now come out with a positive result against its Ivorian rival, to avoid the complex calculations of promotion that it may fall prey to if the team continues its disappointing results.

In the fourth group, Al-Ahly will meet its host, Young Africans of Tanzania, while CS Belouizdad will play its host, Medeama, of Ghana.

Al-Ahly (the defending champion), who holds the record for the number of wins in the tournament with 11 titles, shares the top spot in the group with CS Belouizdad with 3 points each. The Egyptian team defeated its guest, Medeama, 3-0, in the first round, which saw the Algerian team win by the same score over its guest, Young Africans.

Al-Ahly is seeking to reconcile its fans, who felt very disappointed after the Red Team continued its shaky results in the Egyptian League. As it missed the victory for the second consecutive match in the local competition, after drawing without goals with its guest, Smouha, on Wednesday.

The Club of the Century’s mission in Africa will not be easy against Young Africans, which currently leads the Tanzanian league standings, and is also seeking to recover from its heavy loss to Belouizdad.

On the other hand, Belouizdad, which is looking to win its first title in the Champions League, is looking forward to building on its great victory over Young Africans, and obtaining the three points against Medeama, which is participating for the first time in the group stage of the competition.

The Algerian team has the best chances of obtaining the three points, given its great superiority in technical and material capabilities compared to its Ghanaian competitor, which is currently in the middle of its country’s league table.

The first group witnesses another purely Arab confrontation between Nouadhibou and Pyramids, while the Democratic Republic of Congo TP Mazembe faces its guest, Sun Downs, in an upcoming African summit.

Pyramids, which is currently at the top of the Egyptian League, started its campaign in the group in the best way, after a 1-0 victory over its distinguished guest, Mazembe, who won the Champions League 5 times, while Nouadhibou, who is playing for the first time in the group stage of the Champions League, suffered a painful loss – 0 – 3 in front of Sun Downs.

This is the second meeting between Nouadhibou and Pyramids, after they previously met in the group stage of the African Confederation Championship for the 2019-2020 season. The Egyptian team won 6-0 in the first leg in Cairo, before winning again 1-0 in the second leg in Mauritania.

The date will be renewed again between Mazembe and Sun Downs, after they had previously faced each other in many matches in various African competitions, the last of which was in the group stage of the tournament in 2021.

Sun Downs, who won the Champions League in 2016, had the advantage during the previous nine meetings that took place between the two teams, after achieving 6 victories over their Democratic Congolese rival, who achieved two victories, while the only meeting between them was tied.