From sixty participating teams at the start of the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League, only 8 teams are remaining as the quarterfinal stage of the prestigious continental competition gets underway in the early morning hours on Saturday.Among the remaining participants, reigning champions Al Ahly, are still in the race to defend their title, and clinch the cup for the third year in a row when they host Raja Casablanca in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday. The record CAF Champions League holders (10) and the three time Moroccan winners will be joined by ES Setif vs ES Tunis, Petro Luanda vs Mamelodi Sundowns and CR Belouizdad vs Wydad Casablanca in the other quarter final pairings.Here is a preview of the games.ES Setif (Algeria) vs Esperance Tunis (Tunisia) – Stade du 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Saturday 0000EATEsperance was one of the only two sides to finish the group phase of the competition without suffering defeat as they topped Group C. They will be travelling to Algeria to start off the quarter-final journey against Setif who last reached the quarters in 2018.4 time winners of the competition, Esperance, have progressed to the quarters every season since 2017 and look the part ahead of the meet up with Setif who have one Champions League title, won in 2014.The Algerians will be looking to make the best of their home advantage, to ease the burden of battling for a win in Rades in the return fixture.🇩🇿 @essetifienne 🆚 @ESTunis1919 🇹🇳🏟️ 5 July 1962 Stadium🏆 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL quarter-finals⌚ 21:00 GMTThe first #TotalEnergiesCAFCL quarter-finals first leg encounter! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZOOSYqTbnU— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 15, 2022 In their recent last four meetings in the Champions League, each side has won once, with the remaining two ending in draws. Setif come into the tie on the backdrop of poor results, having lost their last four matches; three in the league and one in the Champions League, without scoring a goal.3.25 Setif 2.75 Esperance Esperance have a contrasting fortune, having won three of their last five matches, drawing one and losing one across all competitions.Petro de Luanda (Angola) vs Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) – Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Saturday 1900EATThe battle of the two southern Africa countries will kick off in Luanda on Saturday night for their third meeting in the recent past in the competition. They last met in the 2019-20 season, Sundowns winning the first leg 3-0 at home before drawing 2-2 in Luanda.Coming into the tie, 2016 winners Sundowns are the form side, having won all their last five matches across all competitions. They have scored a whooping 15 goals in their last three matches, an average of five per game and warmed up for this fixture with a 6-0 drubbing of Golden Arrows in the PSL on Tuesday.It’s time for the knockout stages to commence in the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL! Up next, a first leg battle in Angola! 👆🇦🇴⚽ Atlético Petroléos vs Mamelodi Sundowns 📆 16 April⏰ 18H00 🏟 Estadio 11 de Novembro🏆 CAF Champions League 📺 SS 209📲 #Sundowns #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/MKZbOpPKiu— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) April 15, 2022 Petro on the other hand have won just two of their last five, losing a similar number, including a 5-1 humbling by Wydad Club Athletic in their last group match.Petro are playing in the quarters for the first time since 2001 when they reached the semis. Their last two sojourns ended in the group phase.2.80 Petro de Luanda 2.90 Mamelodi For Masandawana, they have reached every quarter final since they won the title in 2016, bar 2018. They have however failed to go past the quarters in the last two successive Championships.Al Ahly (Egypt) v Raja Club Athletic (Morocco) – Al Salam Stadium Cairo, Saturday 2300EATThese two sides clash slightly less than five months since they last met in the CAF Super Cup which ended in a 1-1 draw, Al Ahly winning 6-5 on penalties.This will be the fourth time the two sides meet in the recent past, and the third in the Champions League. Their last meeting in the competition was in 2005, The Red Devils winning the first leg 1-0 at home before playing to a 1-1 draw in the return leg away.𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘!Raise your flag high for the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL quarter-finals! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bALGB0KDS5— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 14, 2022 Holders have not been as impressive as many would have expected them to be in the group stages, but what matters to them most is the fact that they are in the quarters.Raja have had a fairly successful group stage campaign, winning five of their six matches to top their group. They only conceded twice and this will offer the backbone of their campaign as they face Ahly.1.83 Al Ahly 3.30 Raja Casablanca 4.30Ahly come into the match off the backdrop of a 1-0 loss at the hands of Al Masry, their first loss in five matches. Raja on the other hand have won three straight league matches and are second in the league.Concentration Levels 📈#AfricaYaAhly pic.twitter.com/gkaguTY4f3— Al Ahly SC 🇬🇧 (@AlAhlyEnglish) April 14, 2022 CR Belouizdad (Algeria) v Wydad Club Athletic (Morocco) – Stade du 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Sunday 00EATBelouizdad and Wydad are meeting for the first time in the Champions League, both coming into the game with similar fortunes.Wydad have not lost a match since February 23 when they were defeated 2-0 by Hassania Agadir. They have won seven of their last eight matches. CRB have also won seven of their last 10 fixtures, losing only once against Esperance in the Champions League last month.The most goals ever in a #TotalEnergiesCAFCL group-stage! 🔥🇲🇦 Enjoy @WACofficiel’s 15 goals that sent them to the final eight! 👇— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 14, 2022 CRB finished second in their group and are playing in the quarter finals of the new Champions League era for the first time ever.2.25 Belouizdad 3.00 Wydad Casablanca Wydad who topped Group D are playing the quarter finals for a seventh consecutive time. Over that period, they have won the title once (2017), lost a final once (2018-19) and reached three semi-finals.Additional reporting by CAF
