Record eight times champions Al Ahly are facing elimination unless they secure all three points when they take Algerian club JS Saoura in Alexandria on Saturday.
Al Ahly are currently second in the standings with seven points, one adrift of group-toppers Saoura in the Group D of the competition, which also has Tanzanian Simba SC and Congolese side AS Vita who will be battling each other later in the evening.
Should they draw, the Cairo giants will only go through if the Simba SC and Vita Club clash ends in a draw.
If they lose to the Algerian side, they will crash out of Africa’s elite club competition regardless of the outcome of the tie between Simba and Vita.
Al Ahly are coached by Martin Lasarte, an Uruguayan who has vast experience as a tactician, having been in-charge of top sides in his home country and in Spain.
Ducor Sports previews the final matchday in the top tier African club competition with 11 clubs chasing six places in the March 20 quarter-finals draw.
Group A
Mamelodi Sundowns will be looking to finish top of the group when they face arch-rivals Wydad Casablanca at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the Moroccan city of Rabat.
The Brazilians have qualified and will be looking to frustrate the Moroccan giants who they beat 2-1 in the reverse fixture early on in the group stage.
Wydad are tied at seven points with the Ivory Coast’s ASEC Mimosas, and anything less than maximum points against Sundowns won’t guarantee them a place in the last eight.
On their side, Mimosas will be facing Lobi Stars at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Lagos. The Nigerian side has already been knocked out of the competition following a 3-0 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in their previous group fixture.
Lobi are bottom of the standings with four points, three behind the visitors in third.
Group B
Orlando Pirates and Horoya AC will battle for a place in the quarterfinals when they face each other at Stadu du 28 Septembre in Conakry.
The South African side are third with six points, one adrift Horoya who are second with seven points after five rounds of matches.
In the previous match between the two sides, Pirates beat the Guinean giants 3-0 in a match that was played at the Orlando Stadium.
The win over Horoya remains Pirates’ sole victory in the group stage as they have collected two draws at home with a 2-0 defeat away to defending champions Esperance nestled in between.
In their last game, the Sea Robbers were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to already-eliminated FC Platinum.
As for HAC, they lost 2-0 away to Esperance de Tunis, who have already booked a spot in the next stage of the competition.
Elsewhere, Esperance de Tunis and FC Platinum will be facing each other in Harare in a match that the Zimbabwean side will be hoping to register their first win of the completion
Platinum sit at the bottom of the table with two points from five games, having drawn 0-0 against Orlando Pirates in their first group match, lost 2-0 to Esperance, then lost home and away to Horoya before drawing 2-2 away to Pirates.
Group C
Five-times champions TP Mazembe will be looking to blow away CS Constantine in a match set to be staged at the Stade TP Mazembe in the DR Congolese city of Lubumbashi.
Mazembe are currently placed second on the group standings, two points behind the leaders Constantine, who are in an advantageous position if they avoid a loss since they have a three-point advantage and a far superior goal difference than Club Africain.
Club Africain will face Egyptian side Ismaily in a match scheduled to take place at the Stade Olympique de Radès in the Tunisian city of Rades.
Ismaily are out of the competition, having earlier been eliminated following their 1-1 draw with Mazembe last weekend. Simply, in tonight’s match, the Mango Boys could have a big say in which clubs progress from this group.
Group D
Tanzania giant Simba will face Congolese side AS Vita in a match set to be played at National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Simba boast a perfect home record this season and can book a quarter-finals place if they collect the three points.
Currently, they are placed fourth in the group standings, two points behind the leaders JS Saoura who will be facing Al- Ahly in another match of the group.
Indeed, all the teams in the group will be fighting for maximum points as they all have a chance of advancing to the next stage of the competition.
Al Ahly are currently second in the standings with seven points, one adrift of group-toppers Saoura of Algeria.
The Egyptian giants, runners-up in the past two editions, have no option but to kill the game from its early minutes if they don’t want to leave their qualification hopes hanging by a thread in their own backyard.
