In order to avoid exclusion from the group stage for the first time in years, Wydad Athletic Club needs to achieve victory against ASEC Mimosas, the leader of Group Two and the pre-qualifier, and wait for the Tanzanian team, Simba, to stumble against the Botswana team, Gwaneng Galaxy. In the event of a draw, Galaxy will need to win against host Simba.
The start of the runner-up of the last edition of the African Champions League in the group stage was not ideal, as he, as usual, wasted valuable points, which made his situation complicated in the calculations for qualifying for the second group, so that he occupies second place alongside Simba with six points, with an advantage for the Tanzanian team in the two matches. The two matches were behind the group leader, who scored 11 points, while Guanying finished fourth with four points.
The red team enters this match with an almost complete squad, with the exception of the absence of its goalkeeper Youssef Mutee due to suspension, with the return of three important players who missed the last match against Joaning to its main roster, namely full-back Elias Al-Shetty, winger Hamdo Al-Huni, and defender Gamal Harkas.
The Tunisian coach, Faouzi Bizertin, is counting on his players regaining confidence after achieving two consecutive victories, the first against RS Berkane in the professional tournament (1-0), and the second against Botswana’s Guaneng Galaxy in the fifth round of the group stage away from home (0-1), hoping The third victory over Mimosa will be a taste of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the African Champions League competition.
Wydad will be supported by its large fans, who will strongly support it to achieve victory and have their eyes on the Dar es Salaam battle, all of which are hopeful that the result of the Simba and Galaxy match will help Wydad to advance to the quarter-finals.
The Ivorian ASEC Mimosas team enters this match without pressure, having secured the qualification ticket, but it will seek to confirm its superiority over the teams in the second group, and exploit the rush of the red team searching for victory in the match, in order to achieve a positive result that confirms its strong path in this year’s edition of the league. Heroes.
Wydad aspires to grab the qualification card for the quarter-finals and join the list of previously qualified teams, which are: Al-Ahly of Egypt, ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, Petro Luanda of Angola, and TP Mazembe of Congo, in addition to the Tanzanian club Young Africans.
