Record African champions Al Ahly will start the campaign towards a record extending 11th CAF Champions League crown this weekend, after the end of their FIFA Club World Cup campaign.The Egyptian giants finished fourth in the global showpiece held in Morocco and will now switch their energies to reclaim the African title they lost to Wydad Athletic Club last season.They will start their campaign away from home taking on Sudanese giants Al Hilal in Khartoum and are keen for a positive kick off, this being the second consecutive season they are facing Hilal in the group stages. Last season, they drew 0-0 in the first leg in Omdurman and won the return tie 1-0 in Cairo.Getting ready before going to Sudan 💪🏻🦅#YallaYaAhly pic.twitter.com/BKXqEBtZ7t— Al Ahly SC 🇬🇧 (@AlAhlyEnglish) February 16, 2023 Hilal started their group phase hunt with a slim 1-0 loss away to Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend.Meanwhile, Sundowns are travelling up to Cameroon to take on Coton Sport who just like Ahly are playing their opening match of the group stage.Sundowns are keen to continue their winning run having enjoyed home victory last weekend, but Coton Sport will offer an entirely different challenge.🚨𝑮 𝑨 𝑴 𝑬 𝑫 𝑨 𝒀🚨🆚 Coton Sport⏰ 18H00 SAST 🏟 Omnisports Roumde Ad📺 SS 208 #Sundowns #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/miiO0UbCit— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) February 17, 2023 Meanwhile in Tanzania, Raja Club Athletic, who started their campaign with an emphatic 5-0 thrashing of Ugandan debutants Vipers, will take on Simba SC in what is expected to be an explosive encounter in Dar es Salaam.The build up to the tie, on and off the pitch has been huge, with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan promising a cash reward for every goal scored by Simba in their encounter with Raja.Simba started their campaign with a 2-0 loss away to Guinea’s Horoya, but it is a match they feel they should have walked out with something looking at the myriad of chances they created.##NAJAVA_MECA_7032792##“We know that Raja is a huge club, but Simba is also a huge club. We respect them but they will be coming to our home and when we play in our home, we always look to get the three points. I trust my players and I trust that we will make our fans happy,” said Simba’s coach Roberto Oliveira ahead of the tie.Meanwhile, Oliveira’s immediate former employers Vipers SC will look for home comfort to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Raja as they welcome Guinea’s Horoya to their St. Mary’s backyard.It is delightful to visit such a football-passionate country as Tanzania 🇹🇿🤩⚽Tunajivunia kuja nchi nzuri kama Tanzania🇹🇿🦅👋🏻 pic.twitter.com/cBu1RbDooV— Raja Club Athletic (@RCAofficiel) February 15, 2023 In other fixtures, Algeria’s CR Belouizdad will be the host of what is expected to be a mouthwatering clash when they take on Tunisian giants Esperance. Both sides started their campaign with identical 1-0 wins, Esperance winning at home against Al Merrikh while Belouizdad clinched a vital victory on enemy territory in Egypt against Zamalek.The Egyptian White Knights will meanwhile play away to Merrikh.Matchday 2 🔛Here are the clashes for this #TotalEnergiesCAFCL round. 👇 pic.twitter.com/rTzwPVX2Fr— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) February 16, 2023 Round 2 FixturesFridayAl Merreikh vs Zamalek – 1600EATCotonsport vs Mamelodi Sundowns – 1900EatKabylie vs Wydad – 2200EATSaturdayAl Hilal vs Al Ahly – 1600EATVipers vs Horoya – 1600EATAS Vita Club vs Petro Athletico – 1900EATSimba vs Raja Casablanca – 1900EATCR Belouizdad vs Esperance Tunis – 2200 EAT
