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Who are next for Sundowns and Pirates in the CAF Champions League?

Who are next for Sundowns and Pirates in the CAF Champions League?
Who are next for Sundowns and Pirates in the CAF Champions League?Profimedia

The opponents for Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates in the second round of the CAF Champions League have been revealed, with teams from Angola and Namibia standing in the way of a group-stage place.

Those ties will be played over the weekends of October 16-18 and 23-25.

 

Mamelodi Sundowns vs Wiliete (Angola)

Sundowns have a tricky second-round tie against Angolan side Wiliete, who eased past Foresters from Seychelles in the previous stage with a 5-0 aggregate win.

Wiliete won the first leg 4-0 at home and the second 1-0 ‘away’ in a game that was also played in Angola, as the islanders do not have a suitable stadium.

Wiliete debuted in the Champions League last season but lost 5-0 on aggregate to Young Africans from Tanzania in the first round.

They are currently on a five-game unbeaten run in domestic and continental football and, while Sundowns will be heavy favourites, should not be underestimated.

Wiliete are based in the Angolan city of Benguela but played their home tie against Foresters in Lubango, almost 900 kilometres from the capital, Luanda.

Orlando Pirates vs African Stars (Namibia)

Pirates come up against Namibian champions African Stars, who are no strangers to them after the teams met in the second round in the 2018/19 season.

That was a hard-fought tie in which Pirates were held 0-0 at home and then went to Namibia and won 1-0.

It might not be so close this time around, though, with Pirates expected to advance comfortably.

Stars edged Mangasport from Gabon on the away-goals rule in a superb first-round effort in which their opponents were favourites.

They lost 3-1 away from home but managed a 2-0 victory in a fixture that was played at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, as Stars have no suitable home ground.

Nick Said has been covering African sport for almost three decades, specialising in football, rugby and cricket. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa and you can follow him on X and LinkedIn.