Crucial ties for Simba SC, Al-Hilal in CAF Champions League group stage

Teams from the CECAFA Zone Simba SC and Al-Hilal will be back in action in the 2023/2024 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League group matches this evening.

Tanzanian Premier League side Simba SC who stopped Wydad AC (Morocco) 2-0 in their last Group B match last December will be all out to pick crucial points when they face table leaders ASEC Mimosas at the Felix Houphouet Boigng Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Simba SC who reached the quarter final stage of the same competition last year are placed second on the log with 5 points, while ASEC Mimosas lead with 10 points.

Abdelhak Benchikha, the Simba Sc head coach has made it clear that they must be at their best in the away match against ASEC Mimosas. “We need to get a good result and the players know that we must work hard as a team,” added Benchikha.

The other two teams in Group B Jwaneng Galaxy and former champions Wydad AC who will also face-off are placed third (4 points) and fourth (3 points) respectively.

In a Group C match Sudan’s Al-Hilal will face a tricky tie against Group C table leaders Petro de Luanda (Angola). Because of the tense political situation in Sudan, Al-Hilal will host the match at the Benina Martyrs Stadium in Benghazi, Libya.

Coach Florent Ibenge’s Al-Hilal team are placed bottom of the log with 4 points, while the Angola giants lead with 8 points. The other teams two Tunisian sides in the group Esperance de Tunis and Etoile du Sahel have collected 5 and 4 points respectively.

On Saturday another teams from the CECAFA Zone Young Africans SC will play away to CR Belouizdad (Algeria) at the Stade du 5 Julillet Stadium in Algiers.

Young Africans SC who humbled Medeama FC (Ghana) 3-0 in their last group match are third on the log with the same number of points with CR Belouizdad who have a better goal difference. Giants Al Ahly (Egypt) lead the group with 6 points, while Medeama FC are bottom with 4 points.