Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has named his starting line-up for the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg against ES Tunis at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi.
Sundowns have a chance to reach the CAF Champions League final for the second consecutive season, as they face ES Tunis this evening in the first leg.
Masandawana lost to Egyptian side Pyramids FC in last season’s final and would like to push more again this year to emulate the team of 2016, which last won the competition.
The obstacle is that they haven’t done well away from home in this season’s CAFCL, having won once, against Nigerian side Remo Stars in the qualification round, drawn twice – against Algerian side MC Alger and DRC side FC Saint Eloi Lupopo both in the group stages, and lost to Sudanese side Al Hilal SC and Stade Malien.
Sundowns will aim to take their league form to this clash, as they have won 10 matches in a row and are currently sitting top of the table. ES Tunis, meanwhile, haven’t lost at home since May 2023 to Beja in the Tunisia Cup.
These two sides are familiar with each other, having faced each other 10 times; ES Tunis won four times, Sundowns won twice, and four matches ended as draws, but last season the PSL giants eliminated their Tunisian counterparts at the quarter-final stage, beating them 1-0 on aggregate after a goalless draw in Tunis and a 1-0 win in Pretoria.
Here is how they line up:
Sundowns XI: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Cupido, Lunga, Mokoena, Adams, Allende, Morena, Sales, Leoń
Subs: Onyango, Ntsabeleng, Aubaas, Mdunyelwa, Matthews, Zwane, Basadien, Rayners
ES Tunis XI: Ben Said, Tougai, Keita, Jelassi, Hmida, Tka, Onuche, Konate, Sasse, Boualia, Danho.
Subs: Memmiche, Drager, Guennichi, Diakite, Rafia, Diarrea, Hadj Ali, Jabri, Ben Ali.
