Tanzanian Premier League heavyweights Simba and Yanga will on Friday evening seek to secure progress into the CAF Champions League last four when they square out with Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns respectively in two crucial quarter-final second leg ties.While Yanga head on to Loftus Versfeld Stadium on the back of a barren draw against Sundowns last week, Simba will have to work extra hard to overturn a 0-1 first-leg deficit when they turn up at the Cairo International Stadium in a 2300 EAT kickoff.Yanga’s game will be a 2100 EAT kickoff.##NAJAVA_MECA_8009522##Timely return of key Yanga players Yanga head coach Angel Miguel Gamondi will be handed a major boost with the return of three players: Khalid Aucho, Koussi Yao and Pacome Zouzoua, who all missed out in the first-leg played at Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, and could prove key on Friday.We are ready for tomorrow’s game against Mamelodi Sundows FC #CAFCL 💪🔰#TheClubAboveAll#DaimaMbeleNyumaMwiko pic.twitter.com/JcCIpan375— Young Africans SC English (@YoungAfricansEN) April 4, 2024 “We are starting more seriously,” Gamondi told the club media on Wednesday. “The team is doing well. We are trying to work with the injured players who are recovering.“We have assembled a complete squad, ready to take on Mamelodi Sundowns. Our team spirit is high. We are excited to have our full complement of players available. “We are to make tactical changes as needed, which means that we field our best possible lineup.”Sundowns on the other hand will be without the duo of Bongani Zungu and Mosa Lebusa, who were all substituted off in the first leg with injuries, but could see the return of Themba Zwane, Rushin De Reuck and Mothobi Mvala as per head coach Rulani Mokwena.We have done our homework on Sundowns, says Yanga midfielder SkuduElsewhere in Cairo, Egypt, Simba will be without goalkeeper Aishi Manula who sustained an injury while on national team duty during the FIFA Series encounter against Bulgaria in Azerbaijan.Renewed with confidence in his players, Simba head coach Benchikha Abdelhak however believes that his players have taken lessons from the first leg defeat at home, and will focus on upsetting Marcel Martin Koller’s team in their backyard.The competition’s two other quarter finals take place on Saturday, with TP Mazembe visiting Petro de Luanda as ASEC Mimosas hosts Esperance.All ties are finely poised at 0-0.
