With Al Ahly boss Marcel Koller having already vowed that his team will score against Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday, here are several dangermen who could destroy Masandawana's dreams of making it to the African Football League final.
A tense battle awaits in Cairo as the two continental giants get ready to collide in a crucial AFL second-leg semi-final clash. The South Africans hold a narrow 1-0 aggregate lead after they claimed the spoils in the first leg on Sunday thanks to a stunning long-range strike by 20-year-old star Thapelo Maseko in Tshwane.
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There is clearly no shortage of confidence from both managers, with Downs' Rulani Mokwena suggesting that their opponents now have the pressure of not conceding an away goal, which would sway the tie in favour of Downs.
"We've got a goal in Cairo, and they know that too. They know Sundowns can score in Cairo and you could see it in the frustration of the players when they walked off the pitch," Mokwena after the first leg at Loftus Versfeld, per CafOnline. "The first thing that they have got to think about is Sundowns must not score an away goal and so let's see what happens. It's going to be an interesting game and I think they also know that Sundowns have got a goal in Cairo."
Although much of the talking will be done on the field, Koller also issued a defiant message after his side's defeat, stating: "Of course, we still have a chance in the second leg in Cairo. I'm confident we will score, especially when we have our fans in the stadium."
However, the Swiss boss will be banking on his attackers to do the job on the night, with two of his trusted talismans, Percy Tau and Kahraba, both available for the fixture. The Bafana Bafana star has scored against his former employers before, having netted a one goal during a 5-2 defeat to Downs earlier this year in the CAF Champions League. Although he was kept relatively quiet by his compatriot Grant Kekana this past weekend, the Brazilians are wary of the danger Tau possess to them. The 29-year-old is in red-hot form at the Cairo International Stadium too, as he has scored four goals in two home matches in the Egyptian Premier League already this season.
The threat posed by the Lion of Judah will be strengthened by his strike partner Kahraba, who already has four goals in continental competition this season, including two strikes in the AFL despite being left on the bench in the previous match. The competition for a spot in attack at Ahly is evidently stacked, with Koller having trusted Salah Mohsen, Afsha, and Tau to lead the line in the first leg. Given that this wasn't a productive line-up in Tshwane, new signing Anthony Modeste was brought on to trouble the likes of Rivaldo Coetzee and Abdelmounaim Boutouil in Downs' defence.
Although Modeste is yet to find his feet since making the move from Borussia Dortmund to Egypt as a free agent in September, he has a solid history of netting in big competitions, having registered 85 goals in the Bundesliga and another 31 goals in France's Ligue 1. Many expect the 35-year-old to explode eventually, and Downs need to be careful in case that big moment for the centre-forward unfortunately comes against them on Wednesday night.
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