Mamelodi Sundowns will shift the focus back on the elusive CAF Champions League title when they host FC Nouadhibou of Mauritania at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.
The well-rested Brazilians last played when they lifted the newly launched African Football League (AFL) trophy after they beat Morocco’s Wydad Athletic 2-0 two weeks ago.
Sundowns are in the group stages of the Champions League and will resume their quest for more continental glory.
They are in the same group as Pyramids FC (Egypt) and TP Mazembe of DR Congo, and will be hoping to get off to a good start against the Egyptians.
Hard-working defender Grant Kekana said they are expecting a good game against the team from Mauritania.
Downs expect game to be physical
“Fans can expect a very good game – everyone knows that the Champions League is very competitive and very tough,” said Kekana.
“We are playing against a tough team, and they have a few players in their national team.
“We expect the quality of the game to be high, we expect the game to be physical. It should be a good game and one that we will prepare well for. We will be ready.”
He said winning the AFL gave the players a great sense of confidence going into the CAF Champions League.
“We know what happened last season, we took the lessons. The AFL has proven to us that we can do it against the big guns, and we want to continue with that winning momentum.
“The AFL was just the start of bigger things to come and we hope that we can bring this trophy home. We know that it will be a difficult journey, but we are prepared for it.
“We cannot take any team for granted, there are a lot of surprises coming from the teams that are unknown on the continent.
“We urge our supporters to come in big numbers and paint the stadium yellow like they did in the final of the AFL. We just want them to sing their lungs out so that we can make them more happier.”
Sundowns, who are the DStv Premiership defending champions and current log leaders, have had to abandon their league programme for two months while focusing on CAF club competitions.
They last played a league match on September 27 when they hammered Stellenbosch FC 3-1.
