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

Prediction published on 29/03/2024, 05:23  by Daniel Ngulu in CAF Champions League Predictions

Reigning African champions Al Ahly will lead a star-studded pool of teams when the CAF Champions League enters the quarterfinals. The Egyptians will start it off with an away match in Tanzania against Simba SC in the Friday first leg. Simba are here courtesy of their second placed finish in Group B with nine points, two behind ASEC Mimosas. They won’t be fazed by being at this stage of the competition but will be motivated to go past it. Last season, they suffered a quarterfinal elimination at the hands of eventual finalists Wydad Casablanca. They warmed up for this key game with a 2-0 win over Mashujaa in their domestic league. A third straight victory, the win will fire up Simba in the run up to this game. In their last Champions League game, they whacked Galaxy 6-0 at home and are now unbeaten in seven home games in the competition. In their six group stage matches, Simba only suffered one defeat, and conceded two goals.

This will be Al Ahly’s third trip to Tanzania this season. They finished top in a group that had another Tanzanian side, Yanga, while they also played Simba in the African Football League. Al Ahly have faced Simba six times before. The Tanzanians have grown resilient since their 5-0 loss to Al Ahly in the first ever meeting in 2019. In the five matches that came after that, Al Ahly managed just one more win, and lost twice. Quite notably, this fixture rare;ly favors the visiting team, and that will concern Al Ahly. In the two sides’ six meetings, all four wins have been in the home team’s favor. Their last two meetings ended in draws, with the 2-2 draw in Tanzania seeing Al Ahly advance in the African Football League. While Al Ahly are unbeaten in 16 Champions League matches, they didn’t have the best warm up to this game. The Egyptian giants suffered a 4-3 away loss to National Bank in their domestic league. That loss left them 10th in the league table, though they have six games in hand.