AL Ahly SC (EGY) vs Mamelodi Sundowns Prediction & Betting Tips - CAF Champions League

Prediction published on 15/05/2021, 00:00  by Nella Wagah | Modified on 15/05/2021 at 01:29 in CAF Champions League Predictions

Two giants of African football face off on Saturday as Al Ahly hosts Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of their CAF Champions League semi final in Cairo. Both sides are coming from strong domestic runs and it will be interesting to see the strategies employed with key focus on one man – the Al Ahly manager Pitso Mosimane. The coach won the African title with Sundowns before decamping to Al Ahly and won it with them too last season. After many years with Sundowns he must be having a very good understanding of the South Africans. His team hasn’t been very consistent in recent matches and after managing just two wins in their last five, he will hope to restart a good run here. In the last nine matches, Al Ahly have no clean sheet but they’ve failed to score in just one of the last 15 matches. They lost once in the group stages in the Champions League, away to Simba in Tanzania but won two of their three home matches. That remains their only loss in 18 Champions League matches but at home they have a 32-game unbeaten run in this competition.

Sundowns are on the verge of winning another title in South Africa and they will be seeking a first leg advantage here, playing away from home. They’ve had a good season, and they head to this game on the back of three straight wins and four unbeaten matches with four straight clean sheets. Sundowns won their opening four group games in the Champions League and by the time they went to their fifth, they’d already secured their place in the quarters. They lost their last group game to Belouizdad 2-0, having drawn 0-0 with Al Hilal on Match Day 5 and going here they will instill the needed focus again. The South Africans have six wins in the last 10 Champions League matches. Last season, they faced off with Al Ahly at this same stage and the Egyptians emerged 3-1 winners on aggregate after a 2-0 win in Cairo. That remains Sundowns’ only defeat in nine away matches in the competition.