What to Look Out for in the CAF Champions League Final?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
Al-Ahly Bid To Retain CAF Champions League Trophy
It’s Egypt v Tunisia in the final of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League. This isn’t a one-off match as seen in many other competitions. Instead, it’s being played over two legs on May 18 and 25.
Al Ahly from Egypt will be hoping to retain the trophy that they won this season. Out to stop them are Espérance Sportive de Tunis who have won this competition on four previous occasions and host the first leg. The second leg will be played at Al Ahly's International Stadium in Cairo (seen above). What should we be looking out for in this two-legged final. Prices for the final aren't yet available. When they are you can check them all out on our CAF Champions League odds with plenty of markets to bet on.
Goalfest Unlikely
With this being a two-legged final, it could well be a cagy affair. Al Ahly will want to return home from Tunisia with a good result even if it’s only a draw or a narrow defeat.
Al-Ahly entered this season’s CAF Champions League in the second round. They comfortably beat Kidus Giorgis from Ethiopia 7-0 on aggregate to progress into the group stages. That saw them top Group B by four points but their six games only produced seven goals. Only one goal was conceded, a late equalizer denying them a win at second-placed Young Africans. All three of their home group games saw clean sheets being kept.
Espérance Sportive de Tunis beat AS Douanes from Burkina Faso in round two but only 1-0 on aggregate. There were no goals from open play with the winner being from the penalty spot in the away first leg.
That took them into Group C in which they finished second behind Petro de Luanda from Angola. Of their six games, five had under 2.5 goals scored in them. The only one that didn’t was a 3-1 away loss to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal. Even then, an own goal and a penalty contributed towards the four goals scored. Don't forget to check all the CAF Champions League betting predictions on our site.
In the quarter-finals, both of Al Ahly’s games against Tanzanian side Simba had under 2.5 goals scored in them. It was a tight match for sure between Espérance Sportive de Tunis and ASEC Mimosas from the Ivory Coast with both legs ending goalless and Tunis winning on penalties.
It was close too in their semi-final but Espérance won both legs against South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 to reach another final. Al Ahly played TZ Mazembe from Congo in their semi-final. After a goalless draw in the away first leg, they won 3-0 at home, though it was 1-0 going into the 83rd minute.
Al Ahly have therefore had to play 12 games to reach this final and conceded just one goal. They’ve kept clean sheets in their last eight games in this season’s CAF Champions League. As for Espérance Sportive de Tunis, they have conceded just three goals, all in that defeat away at Al Hilal. Anything but a low-scoring final would be a surprise.
Who'll Finish Top Goalscorer?
If there are to be goals in this final, who might score them? This is a competition that isn’t renowned for players scoring lots of goals. Going into this final, the leading scorer is Sankara William Karamoko who plays for ASEC Mimosa. He’s scored four goals, two in a group match against Jwaneng Galaxy from Botswana.
Both Yan Sasse of Espérance and Hussein El Shahat of Al Ahly are on three goals apiece. With two games to play in this final, they may well be able to at least share the top scorer title, if not beating it. They’ll have to get past two very tight defences though. Sasse scored twice in the group stages and also in the first leg of the semi-final. As for El Shahat, his goals all came in the group matches.
;Home form is going to be important in this two-legged final. Espérance are unbeaten in their last 19 home games in all competitions excluding penalty shoot-outs. Only one of their last four away games has been won though.
Al Ahly are also unbeaten in their last 19 home fixtures with four clean sheets in the last six. Only one of their last six away matches has been lost
These two clubs met in this competition last season’s semi-final. El Ahly won that 4-0 on aggregate but a much closer final could well be on its way this time around. You can follow all the action as it happens on our CAF Champions League livescore with updated statistics and live text commentary.
