Mamelodi Sundowns

Image: Supplied/DStv

CAF Champions League preview: Mamelodi Sundowns v CR Belouizdad – 9 April

Mamelodi Sundowns will aim to end their CAF Champions League group stage campaign on a winning note when they play CR Belouizdad.

Mamelodi Sundowns

Image: Supplied/DStv

Mamelodi Sundowns will be aiming to end their CAF Champions League group stage campaign on a winning note when they welcome CR Belouizdad to Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

Kick-off is at 15:00.

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Masandawana have already sealed top spot in Group B after recording four wins and one draw in their first five fixtures, meaning the club’s trio of co-coaches could be tempted to rest a number of players with one eye on the DStv Premiership campaign.

This after the defending PSL champions returned to winning ways with a 3-1 triumph over TTM on Tuesday, having been held to goalless draw by Al Hilal at the start of April.

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With all that said, Mamelodi Sundowns are unbeaten in 27 matches in all competitions, with their last defeat coming against Bloemfontein Celtic in the MTN8 on 18 October.

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi admitted the club has a “responsibility not to lose a lot of matches” in his post-match interview in midweek.

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He said: “We work very hard on instilling that culture. But we are never focused on: how many games have we won, how many games have we drawn?

“We are always focusing on making sure we win every match. We even feel bad when we get a draw.

“Whether it’s a friendly match, be it a practise match, we always want to win at the end of the match. And as for the records, that is for the statisticians and the media.

“As coaches we are focusing on each game as it comes and to give our best shot in every game, which is why even now we have won the match but we are unhappy that we conceded a goal – because that is what we are always playing for.”

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CR Belouizdad, meanwhile, head into Friday’s encounter on the back of a 2-0 win over TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League last Friday.

That win put in them in a good position to claim the runner-up spot in Group B, raising their tally to six points and lifting them two points clear of Al Hilal.

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