Al Ahly, TP Mazembe, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Esperance are back in action on Friday for the second leg matches of the semi-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
After these decisive matches, fans of Africa's most prestigious club competition will know the identities of the two teams set to face off in the final.
It's an opportunity for Cafonline.com to highlight some key points that could sway the outcome of this semi-final second leg.
Ahly’s Cairo fortress
While battles may be won away, championships are often secured at home. In the four matches played at home, Al Ahly has not suffered a defeat in Cairo boasting a record of three wins and one draw during this TotalEnergies CAF Champions League season. Against TP Mazembe, the Cairo-based team has always emerged victorious at home, with a 1-0 win in 2002 during the group stage and a 2-1 victory in 2012.
Mazembe defensive pillars
Magloire Ntambwe and Johnson Atibu Radjabu, the backbone of the Ravens, particularly shone in the first leg of the CAF TotalEnergies Champions League semi-final against Al Ahly. These two players have effectively used their physical prowess to thwart Egyptian attacks, exemplified by Ntambwe winning 86% of his aerial duels this season. The Congolese defender boasts the highest percentage of duels won in the tournament's history since Bulelani Ndengane with Orlando Pirates in 2018/19 (87%).
Mamelodi Sundowns, embracing attacking play
Dynamic and elusive, Mamelodi Sundowns prefer not to be confined to their own half. Alongside Esperance, their semi-final opponents, Sundowns are the team that have taken and/or touched the most balls in the opponent's penalty area following their sequences of play (22 times).
Esperance - a focus on defence
Esperance has not conceded a goal in their last seven matches in the CAF TotalEnergies Champions League, marking their best streak in the competition. Playing a crucial role in this defensive performance is the young goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche, aged 20, who will be keen on maintaining this impressive form against Mamelodi Sundowns on Friday. It's worth noting that the South Africans have never lost two matches against the same team in the knockout stage of the competition.
