CR Belouizdad will be looking to record their first win of CAF Champions League group stage when they host Congolese giants TP Mazembe at the Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers on Friday.
The White and Reds head into this weekend’s round of fixtures on a back of a goalless draw against Sudanese giants Al Hilal in a match that was played on 16 March.
TP Mazembe, on the other hand, lost their fourth Group B match by a solitary goal to 2016 African champions Mamelodi Sundown in Pretoria on the same day.
Belouizdad are expected to unleash former Sunderland goalkeeper Ahmed Abdelkader who was on the bench against Al Hilal.
They also expected to field former Belgium Under-21 goalkeeper Maeckey Ngombo in their squad, who has previously played in the Eredivisie.
The Algerian champions will be without their manager Franck Dumas who was fired on Friday following team’s poor results this season.
The club’s board assigned the team’s assistants coaches Suleiman Rahu and Karim Bakhti to lead the team permanently until they sign a new manager for the team.
TP Mazembe find themselves at the bottom of the log, though they are a one point behind Belouizdad who are joint second with Al Hilal.
The last meeting between the two side was on 13 February 2021 where the two team played to a goalless draw in Lumbubashi.
Tshibangu Isaac and Moustapha Kouyate were guilty of missing several chances for the Ravens, making assistant coach Isaac Kasongo Ngandu not happy with the team’s showing.
Mazembe face an opposition struggling for consistency in the Algerian Ligue 1 where they are eighth after recording eight draws in their last two matches.
A win for any of the two sides will put them in control for a second-place finish but any other result will put loser under pressure going into the last group match.
