Sundowns play Al Hilal at Loftus Versfeld Stadium

Mamelodi Sundowns face Sudanese side Al Hilal Omdurman in their African Champions League Group B opener at Loftus Versfeld Stadium Saturday.

The 2016 Champions League winners are on high spirits as they look to get starts the campaign with maximum points.

Sundowns booked their place in the group stages with a 5-1 aggregate win over Botswana outfit Jwaneng Galaxy 3-1, while Al Hilal booked their spot with aggregate wins over Uganda’s Vipers SC and Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko in the preliminary and first round respectively.

The Brazilians are going into the match in a good form after registering three wins in domestic league but co-coach Rulani Mokwena is aware of the threat posed by the Sudanese outfit as it’s a different competition.

“They are not a closed book as we have watched their games, we watched the games against Asante Kotoko in the qualifiers. Their league is ongoing and they are unbeaten, they are a free-scoring side and they are one point behind the team that is number one with a game in hand,” said Mokwena.

“They play a 4-2-3-1 formation. They have two centre-backs who are comfortable on the ball and can start at the back. They are also good with the set-pieces and they use Faris Abdalla who has quality delivery. Mohamed Ouattara is a very important player in terms of their first phase of build-up and can play the long ball behind the defence.”

Sundowns are expected to have centre-back Brian Mandela-Onyango and new signing Rushine De Reuck back in contention for the game after they both missed several domestic league games due to injuries.

In the other Group B match five-time champions TP Mazembe will be at home to CR Belouizdad in Group B action.