The 10-time African Champions Ahly will face Sundowns away from home at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in South Africa in a must-win for the Red Devils, who are hoping to keep their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals alive.

“Ahly will play a critical game against Sundowns, and I hope luck will be with our team,” Komsan was quoted as saying on the club’s official website.

“We put ourselves in a difficult situation, but the players are able to achieve a positive result against Sundowns and return to the right track,” Ahly’s assistant coach added.

“The game against Sundowns is a very important step for Ahly to improve the team’s ranking in the group, as well as increase our chances of reaching the quarterfinals,” Komsan said.

Ahly are third in the Group B ranking with four points, trailing Sundowns, who are second on the table with seven points, and Sudan's Al-Hilal are in the lead with nine points. Coton Sport are currently at the bottom of the group without any points.

“If Sundowns is a distinctive team, Ahly are also an experienced team with more trophies, so the game will be equal between the two teams,” Komsan added.

Ahly football director is optimistic

Meanwhile, Ahly football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz has expressed his optimism ahead of the crunch showdown thanks to the team’s experience in the previous editions of the continental tournament.

“Ahly have more experience and talented players in their squad and they are able to deal with such situations,” Abdel-Hafiz said.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ management has decided to open the door for free for their supporters to attend the game at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in a step meant to put pressure on their visitors.

“Every team has the right to call up a big number of their supporters, but in the end, the game’s result is not due to fan numbers,” Abdel-Hafiz added.

Ahly held to a 2-2 draw in the home game against Sundowns in the third round of the group stage games.

“We have more motivation ahead of the game to achieve a positive result,” the Ahly football director said.

Talented winger Abdel-Kader says Ahly is more motivated

Talented Ahly winger Ahmed Abdel-Kader believes that his team is more motivated ahead of the game against Mamelodi Sundowns, affirming that they will play to win.

“Ahly always aim for victory in any game, and we will play against Sundowns with big motivations to reach our target of achieving a positive result to march on in the tournament,” Abdel-Kader said.

The Cairo giants will fly to Cameroon to face Coton Sport in the fifth round of the group stage after finishing the Sundowns game.

“We will do our best during the coming two games against Sundowns and Coton Sport of Cameron to secure a place in the prestigious tournament quarterfinals,” the Ahly winger said.

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