Raja Casablanca, Mamelodi Sundowns face off in Champions League
Moroccan side Raja Casablanca will be looking to use their home advantage to revenge against South Africans Mamelodi Sundowns in their Champions League group tie on Saturday.
Raja lost 1-0 in Pretoria two weeks ago. The loss spelt the end for their Portuguese coach Sa Pinto, who was replaced by Hafid Abdessadek.
But Abdessadek will command from the stands and not on the touchline on Saturday.
According to reports, he lacks the required coaching licenses to manage a team in competition.
The match in Pretoria was Miguel Cardoso’s first in charge of Sundowns. He has since clinched three successive victories in the local league.
“We focus on what we see, we have studied the opponent, and we focus most of all on ourselves, on what we want to do, what capacities we have, how we want to go as a team, and mostly what we are capable to do. So we believe that we can do a wonderful game,” said Cardoso in a pre-match presser on Friday.
Raja sit at the bottom of group two with one point from a draw and two defeats, while their opponents sit joint top of the group with 5 points, just behind on goal difference.
Raja’s difficult spell extends to the local league. The club lost away at the weekend to Renaissance Berkane in the Morocco Botola league to slip down to ninth spot.
Source: AfricaNews AP
