Pre-Match Facts: FAR Rabat hold advantage as Berkane seek semi-final turnaround
RS Berkane will attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit against FAR Rabat on Saturday as pre-match facts highlight the contrasting strengths shaping this all-Moroccan TotalEnergies CAF Champions League semi-final second leg.
FAR Rabat arrive with a commanding 2-0 advantage from the first leg, extending an impressive unbeaten run that underlines their growing momentum in the competition.
Despite the deficit, Berkane will take confidence from their strong home record, where they have remained difficult to break down while conceding just once in the competition.
The tie presents a tactical contrast, with FAR boasting one of the best defensive records this season, while Berkane’s attacking threat—particularly from set-pieces and high turnovers—offers a potential route back into the contest.
Individual performances could also prove decisive, with key players on both sides contributing significantly to their teams’ progress to this stage.
With a place in the final at stake, the pre-match data points to a finely balanced encounter where Berkane must be clinical, while FAR Rabat aim to manage their advantage and complete the job.
Below are the pre-match facts of the second-leg match between Berkane and FAR Rabat:
● FAR Rabat beat RS Berkane 2-0 last week in what was their first meeting in the CAF Champions League, they are now unbeaten across the three meetings with fellow Moroccan sides in the competition (W2 D1).
● Each of RS Berkane’s three defeats in the CAF Champions League came in away games, being unbeaten across four games at home (W2 D2), while conceding just once in the four home matches.
● FAR Rabat are unbeaten across their last eight games in the CAF Champions League (W4 D4) since a 0-1 defeat against Young Africans in the opening match of this season’s edition.
● FAR Rabat have won just two of their 11 away games in the CAF Champions League (D5 L4), though they did beat Pyramids 2-1 in their last match on the road in the quarter-finals last month.
● FAR Rabat have won their last two games in the CAF Champions League, they could become the first Moroccan side to win three successive knockout matches in the competition.
● No side has kept more clean sheets than FAR Rabat in the CAF Champions League this season (5, level with Stade Malien), however, FAR Rabat have conceded 4.5 goals fewer than expected in the competition this season (4 goals conceded, 8.5 xGA).
● RS Berkane have recorded the most high turnovers (66; sequences that start in open play and begin 40m or less from the opponent's goal) and the most shots following high turnovers (15) in the CAF Champions League this season.
● No side has scored more goals (5) or attempted more shots (38) from set-pieces than RS Berkane in the CAF Champions League this season (including penalties). Indeed, four of their six shots against FAR Rabat in the first leg came from set-pieces.
● FAR Rabat’s Mohamed Hrimat has misplaced just one of his 77 passes in the first leg against RS Berkane, with his 76 completed passes being at least 28 more than any other player in that game (Abdelhak Assal – 48).
● Mounir Chouiar has been directly involved in five of RS Berkane’s nine goals in the CAF Champions League this season excluding own goals (4 goals, 1 assist), with no Berkane player attempting more shots (16) or creating more chances (15) than Chouiar in the competition.