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Khama Billiat

Zamalek and Mamelodi Sundowns will lock horns for the first of two matches in the Caf Champions League this month tomorrow at the Petro Sport Stadium in Cairo.

Kick-off is at 7:30pm CAT.

The Brazilians jetted off to the Egyptian capital on Wednesday evening in confident mood despite injury worries to key players.

Khama Billiat and Thabo Nthethe are nursing injuries, but are expected to be available for selection alongside Keagan Dolly who is recovering from a bout of flu.

Moreover, head coach Pitso Mosimane has welcomed back Anthony Laffor and Denis Onyango, while Percy Tau has also been registered for the continental competition.

Sundowns and Zamalek are locked on three points apiece after one game with the Brazilians’ opening day win over ES Setif chalked off.

With Enyimba winless in their opening two games, Sundowns and Zamalek are favourites to progress to the knockout stages with victory for either this weekend to take them to the brink of semi-final qualification.

“It’s not going to be easy, the good thing is that we broke the ice with victory in Setif,” said Mosimane before Sundowns left for Egypt earlier this week.

“It’s possible (to win in Cairo), but you’ve to show respect and tread carefully and make sure that you get something out of the game. It would be nice to get three (points), but if we get one that’s not bad, but the hope is to get three.

“If we were playing at home this weekend, I would be speaking the same way I did before the game against Enyimba (which Sundowns won 2-1) — that we’ve to win — but going there’s difficult, not to say I don’t have confidence,” the former Bafana Bafana mentor continued.

The White Knights have endured a good run of results under Mohamed Helmy — a two time winner of the Champions League as a player with Zamalek. The former Egypt international took over the reins from Alex McLeish, who was sacked after 65 days in charge of the Cairo giants.

“They’ve changed their coach, they had the Scottish coach (McLeish), it’s a local coach (Helmy) now, but the tactics are the same, I’ve watched games of Alex and the local coach, and they’re still playing the same way,” Mosimane added.

“Typical North Africans, avoid set-pieces, they’ve big boys and they deliver the ball with proper technique. Against Setif it was the same, the corner-kicks were all perfect, the free-kicks were delivered into a good area.”

Mosimane is especially wary of Tarek Hamed, Mostafa Fathi and Basem Morsi who scored the winner against Enyimba in Port Harcourt last month.

The Absa Premiership champions will host the five-time (1984,1986,1993, 1996, 2002) Caf Champions League champions in the reverse fixture on July 27. — SuperSport.