African Champions: Al Ahly is an extraordinary candidate to reach the final

Egypt's Al Ahly look extraordinary favourites to reach the CAF Champions League final for the fourth time in a row when they host Esperance of Tunisia in the second leg of the semi-finals, while Morocco's Wydad have an arduous task ahead of defending their title against hosts Mamelodi Sundowns. At Cairo International Stadium, Al Ahly enters the match against Esperance with a great advantage after winning the first leg with a clean treble in Rades, which put it on the verge of the final round, in pursuit of the eleventh title in its history in the most important continental competition at the club level.

The Egyptian team offers strong performances recently, as it was crowned the title of the local Super Cup at the expense of Pyramids, and leads the local league, where the South African striker Percy Tau with two goals in the first leg, Mahmoud Abdel Moneim "Kahraba" and Hussein Al-Shahat, as well as Malian Aliou Diang, Tunisian full-back Ali Maaloul and other stars of the "Pharaohs" team.

However, Swiss coach Marcel Koehler, who may miss some of his key cards due to injury, especially goalkeeper Mohamed Shennaoui, warned his players against complacency against the ancient Tunisian team, which witnessed a technical change after the resignation of coach Nabil Maaloul following the big fall in the first leg. Kohler called on his players to focus heavily and not to be complacent or reckless opponent, because NCB has not yet guaranteed qualification.

The "Sheikh of Tunisian clubs" will lead interim coach Anas Bousaidi at a difficult time, as the team will miss about ten players due to injury, most notably Ghilane Chaalali, goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifia, Algerian defender Riyad Ben Ayad and Libyan winger Hamdou El Houni, as well as the quartet of the Tunisian youth team Ghaith El Wahabi, Malik El Mahri, Zinedine Sassi and Raed Boucheniba for their participation in the Youth World Cup in Argentina.

Bousaidi will rely on experienced defenders such as defender Mohamed Ben Ali, Yassine Meryah, Algerian Mohamed Amine Togay, Mohamed Ali Ben Ramadan, Moataz Zadam, Moroccan Saber Boukrin and Anis Badri. The president of the "Mekshakha" Hamdi Meddeb expressed his full confidence in the young coach Bousaidi (41 years old) "Esperance is not experiencing a crisis as it qualified for the golden square of the African Champions League and is still competing for the league and Tunisian Cup titles, despite the difficult circumstances the team went through represented in the pressure of matches and the multiplicity of injuries of key players." Wydad will have an uphill task to continue retaining their continental title, when they face tough hosts Mamelodi Sundowns, who are looking for their second title after 2016, when they face off in Pretoria.