Mamelodi Sundowns play Moroccan side AS FAR Rabat on Saturday at the Ben Ahmed El Abdi Stadium in the Caf Champions League.
The defending Premier Soccer League champions were held to a goalless draw by debutant AS Maniema Union in their opening Group B game played in Mzansi. The former Nasreddine Nabi-led team started their campaign with a 2-0 win against fellow Botola Pro League side Raja Casablanca.
Coach Manqoba Mngqithi is anticipating a tough outing in North Africa. “We are playing against a very good team in Morocco that AS FAR has really done well over the past three seasons if I look at it very closely but it will be interesting to see how they will want to play us because we have a very nice approach for matches like this because I think that's where we are stronger,” he told the media.
North Africans believe they have a chance to beat you!
The 53-year-old then sounded a warning to his players, “It's always gonna be difficult sometimes when we are playing against teams that would resist allowing the game to flow by sitting in but normally North Africans don't have that mentality, they want to come at you. They believe they've got a chance to beat you in their home ground.
“They possess different energies away and home, at home they are highly motivated, probably ultra motivated to come at you and try to get goals but away from their supporters they are usually very timid and they will want to sit back and try to look for counterattacks.”
Nevertheless, the tactician stated he knows how to counter their hosts, “It is very important to understand the dynamics of how we should approach this game but we are still going to look at it but the good thing is that I've been following them a little bit to try and see what they possess and comparing them to us. I think it's gonna be a very interesting match.”
