CECAFA teams hoping to bounce back in Champions League

_{After kicking off the group stage of the 2022/2023 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League without wins last weekend, teams from the CECAFA Zone will be all out to try and bounce back in the next few days.}

_{Uganda’s Vipers SC suffered a 5-0 defeat away to Raja Casablanca in Morocco last Friday, while Sudan sides Al Hilal and Al Merriekh suffered 1-0 defeats away to Mamelodi Sundowns and Esperance de Tunis respectively on Saturday.}

_{Tanzania’s Simba SC also lost 1-0 away to Horoya AC in Guinea on Sunday.}

_{But Roberto Oliveira, Simba SC’s head coach has made it clear that they have to bounce back when they face Raja Casablanca on February 18th at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.}

_{“We know Raja Casablanca is a good team, but we must be at our best and also utilize our home advantage and support of the fans. We need to get back to the drawing board and rectify some mistakes,” added Oliveira.}

_{Uganda’s Vipers SC who made their debut in the group stage of the Champions League will also hope to make their home advantage count. “We did not play well in Morocco last week, but we must now be at our best against Horoya and try to get maximum points,” added Vipers SC’s head coach Roberto Luiz Bianchi Pelliser. The Ugandan champions will host Horoya at their St. Marys Stadium, Kitende on February 18th in a Group C tie.}

_{Florent Ibenge, the Al Hilal has also made it clear they must learn to get sharper at goal. “We wasted several chances in our game against Sundowns. But we must be sharp when we face Al Ahly,” added Ibenge. Al Hilal will host the Egyptian side on February 18th in Khartoum in a Group B tie.}

_{Al Merriekh will also be out to try and pick their first win in the competition when they host Zamalek in a Group D match to be played in Benghazi, Libya. The Egyptian side lost their opening match to Algeria’s CR Belouizdad.}