Getting an upper hand in the first leg match set to be played on familiar home conditions and territory. That will be the mission Tusker FC will be seeking to accomplish when they host five-time African champions Zamalek in their second preliminary round CAF Champions League clash on Saturday afternoon at Nyayo National Stadium.Led by Robert Matano, the reigning Kenyan champions successfully ousted Djiboutian side AS Arta Solar 7 4-1 on aggregate in the first round to book the date against the 2020 champions league losing finalists who got a bye into the second round.Despite missing in action for close to three weeks due to the international break, Tusker will have their work cut out when they emerge from the dressing room tunnels in Nairobi and onto the green Nyayo turf.⚽️| Final training session this afternoon ahead of the big one tomorrow.#KenyaMilele #Brewers4Life pic.twitter.com/KTGR4NMtxe— 🏆Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) October 15, 2021 The big challenge notwithstanding, the Brewers head coach has, all week long, reiterated his team’s ability to manage their opponents in the first leg despite the underdog tag firmly dangling around their necks.With home advantage in their favour in the first leg encounter, Matano has outlined his team’s plan to get the job done and dusted before they jet out for the daunting away return leg.”We know Zamalek is a good team. They are among the champions of Africa but they are beatable. I have psyched my players and I believe they are ready to play. Our intention is to win here so that we can plan for the next match as we want to make it to the group stages,” the head coach remarked.🏹Start of our African season 🌍🔜⚽️Tusker FC 🇰🇪 🆚 Zamalek SC 🇪🇬 🏆 CAF Champions League – 32🗓 Saturday, 16 October 2021🕑 14:00 Cairo Time (GMT+2)🏟 Nyayo National Stadium @CAFCLCC #MatchDay#CHAMP13NS | #Zamalek | #MostTitledIn20C | #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/ZCZWbY7zDi— Zamalek SC English (@ZSCOfficial_EN) October 15, 2021 On the other hand, after having arrived in the country on Tuesday morning, four days before the clash, favourites Zamalek look like a side with a plan.Despite not playing competitively since the Egyptian league concluded back on 27th August, French tactician Patrice Carteron outlined Zamalek’s intention of also picking all the three points with their sights on making it to the group stages.“In football, we have a lot of good teams in Africa and if you are not ready 100% especially mentally it can be a hard game. We have prepared ourselves as best as we can regarding the circumstances to have a good result. Of course we want to qualify for the next round and that means we have to beat the champions of Kenya. It will not be easy but we want to win of course,” the Zamalek boss said.After the first leg match, the return leg will be played in Egypt a week later with the winner confirming their place in the group stages of the continental tournament.The first leg kicks off at 1500 EAT.✅ 1st preliminary round.⏳ 2nd preliminary round.The battle for the 21/22 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL positions is 🔛! pic.twitter.com/5g6k8EjyXv— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) October 14, 2021
