Espérance de Tunis, beaten 1-0 in Misrata, and Club Africain, who brought home a 1-1 draw from Lubumbashi, battle on Saturday and Sunday for their place in the CAF Champions League group stage at the Stade Hamadi-Agrebi in Radès.
The Stade Olympique Hamadi-Agrebi in Radès will host both decisive second legs of the CAF Champions League second preliminary round this weekend. Espérance de Tunis welcome the Libyan side Al-Sweihli on Saturday 24 October at 17:00, before Club Africain host TP Mazembe on Sunday 25 October at 18:00 in the same stadium.
The two Tunisian clubs go into these fixtures in contrasting positions. Espérance find themselves with their backs to the wall, while Club Africain brought back from DR Congo a result that puts them in a favourable position.
Espérance with their backs to the wall
According to La Presse de Tunisie, Espérance Sportive de Tunis went down 1-0 to Al-Sweihli in Misrata in the first leg. A surprise defeat that forces coach David Franco’s men to turn things around in front of their own fans to keep their adventure going.
Algeria international winger Youcef Belaïli was involved in scuffles late in the match in Libya. The source reports no sanction and does not specify the exact nature of those incidents.
The margin for error remains narrow, though: a goal conceded at Radès would seriously complicate the task for the Tunisians, who already have to wipe out their first-leg deficit.
Club Africain in a favourable position
For their part, Club Africain go into their second leg in a favourable position after their 1-1 draw at the Stade de Kamalondo in Lubumbashi. A TP Mazembe goal had in fact been disallowed right at the end of the match, which sparked the Congolese side’s anger.
Coach Lamine N’Diaye’s TP Mazembe will therefore have to win at Radès to turn the tie around. Club Africain, meanwhile, play at home with the advantage of the result secured in DR Congo.
That performance is a psychological advantage for the Tunisian club, even though the Congolese, furious about the goal disallowed in the first leg, will certainly be chasing victory.
A common stake
The winner of each two-legged tie will qualify directly for the group stage of Africa’s premier club competition. A place is therefore at stake for each of the two winners of these ties.
CAF has also set the group-stage draw for 28 October near Cairo. The qualified teams will thus quickly learn their future opponents.
The last time two Tunisian clubs reached the group stage together dates back several seasons.