Mamelodi Sundowns co head coach Rulani Mokwena says they are expecting a difficult game against an Al Hilal team desperate for a win.
While Sundowns are on the verge of qualification for the CAF Champions League knockout phase as they top Group A, their Sudanese opponents are in a three-way battle with countrymen Al Merrikh and Pitso Mosimane’s defending champions, Al Ahly for the second spot.
With all three sitting on four points, six points behind Sundowns, and with just two games remaining in the group, all points will be vital, and Mokoena says Al Hilal will be gunning for a victory on Saturday afternoon.
“They need a win, they’ve changed the structure in the last game against Al Merrikh, where they also needed three points,” Mokwena told the club’s media department.
“They played a different formation and they had the two strikers on top, where initially throughout the group phases they’ve always had that 4-2-3-1.
“But ja, that’s it. We’ll see what happens. We’ve done our work.
“We’ve analysed their last four games since they played us and ja, a very interesting team with some very good players.
“Some of the familiar players that we know like Gerald Phiri, [Abdul] Ajagun, that was at Cape Town City, Ahmed [Wadah] and [Mohamed] Ouattara, the two centre-halves are very important for them, but a good team, a well-coached team and we expect a very difficult game.”
