Mamelodi Sundowns captain Denis Onyango has insisted the preparation for their third CAF Champions League group stages match is going well and they are looking forward to facing Al Ahly on Saturday.
Bafana Ba Style beat Al Ahly last season in front of their fans in Cairo for the first time. However, on Saturday Sundowns are facing an Al Ahly team that’s desperate to collect maximum points at home after losing against Al-Hilal in their first match.
The 37-year-old says his team has been preparing well to face one of the biggest teams in Africa. Onyango sees the encounter between Sundowns and Al Ahly as becoming a derby in the Champions League.
“The preparations are going well. Everyone is looking forward to going to Cairo to face one of the biggest teams in the continent. Of course, it’s always a very interesting game when we play Al Ahly, I think it’s becoming one of the biggest derbies in the African continent in terms of the Champions League,” he said
“So, everyone is looking forward and so far, so good we [are] happy that we are going to play [against] them when we have at least six points or we are on the winning side.
Last week, Mamelodi Sundowns had twelve players who were unavailable for selection including their goal poacher Peter Shalulile and star man Themba Zwane. But Onyango has added that this week Sundowns didn’t have a lot of injuries from the training grounds.
“Looking at the way the team has been training the whole week we don’t have so many injuries but I believe the technical team will choose the best squad to travel and try to get maximum results.
“Playing Al Ahly especially away from home is always a tough encounter right from the airport to the hotel, stadium, training grounds because it’s one of the power houses in African football. So, for us we need to stay focused on our game and try to win if possible because we know when we win, we get to nine points and it gives us one step closer to the quarter-final,” he ended.
A victory for Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday evening could possibly put them closer to the quarter-finals as Sundowns will then be the only team that’s undefeated in the first round of group stage matches.
Also Read: Onyango Reveals Sundowns Target
