Egypt’s Pyramids FC aim to continue their recent fine run when they face Tanzania’s Namungo FC away in the second round of the African Confederation Cup group stage on Wednesday.
Big-spending Pyramids made a perfect start to their Confederation Cup group-stage campaign after claiming an easy 3-0 win over Zambian side Nkana at home last week.
Despite their poor start of the season, the Egyptian Premier League rising power restored their balance recently; securing victory in their last four games.
With two consecutive wins over Masry and Aswan in the domestic league, Pyramids climbed up to third in the table before beating Nkana in the group-stage opener of Africa's secondary club competition.
On Saturday, Pyramids also secured a precious 4-1 win over Obour team in the Egyptian Cup round of 32 to get another morale boost ahead of their visit to Namungo.
On the other side, hosts Namungo won’t be such an easy opponent for the Egyptian team, especially as they will work hard to reconcile fans after losing 1-0 in their group stage opener against Morocco’s Raja.
Namungo will be hosting Pyramids FC behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the recent dense match schedule, Pyramids Argentinian boss Rodolfo Arruabarrena said his team is prepared to win against Namungo.
“We didn’t have enough time to prepare before travelling to Tanzania as we played the Egypt Cup match on Saturday, but we prepared well for the Namungo game and our main target is to return with the three points,” Arruabarrena said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“The pitch of the National Stadium in Tanzania is a perfect one and will help both teams deliver a good performance in an important game,” the coach added.
Against Namungo, Pyramids will be missing the services of in-form Uruguayan forward Diego Rolán, after picking up a muscular injury in the recent Cup match.
Meanwhile, Namungo coach Hemed Suleiman has acknowledged that his team will be facing a strong opponent, stressing that need for a win on Wednesday after the loss to Raja.
“Pyramids is a strong team that includes very good players in different positions. We should be aware of them, especially as they deliver collective football and they are strong candidates for the title, after reaching the final in the last edition,” the coach said on Tuesday’s presser.
Under the guidance of Arruabarrena, Pyramids reached the final of the same tournament last season, where they were defeated by Morocco’s Nahdet Berkane in a controversial game.
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