Pitso Mosimane: Mamelodi Sundowns should win home games in Caf Champions League Group A

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane says his side will be ready for African giants Wydad Casablanca and Asec Mimosas in the 2018/19 Caf Champions League group stage.

“We got Wydad again, for the third time in a row,” Mosimane said to the Sundowns official website.

The Brazilians will open their Group A campaign against Lobi Stars of Nigeria away next month, before hosting the Moroccan giants Wydad.

“It’s good to play Wydad again because all our games with them are tight. There’s no team that’s scored two goals. In some instances, penalties separate the two teams,” he added.

“It’s a good draw. We know where we stay when we play Wydad. The challenge of going to Wydad is flying because there are no direct flights to Casablanca. It’s either you go via Europe, Accra or Senegal,” continued the coach.

“We haven’t played (Ivorian giants) Asec in the past. They’re Soumahoro Bangaly and (Yannick) Zakri’s former team. We got the two players from them which shows that they’re a good team. They play on an artificial pitch. We can’t complain about that because we have played on an artificial pitch before. They’re a tricky team to play away. They’re technical and physical. Even though they’re difficult away, you’ve got to win at home. In my opinion, we can get four points out of Asec,” he explained.

Mosimane stated that winning their homes games will be crucial during their group stage campaign.

"The most important thing in the Champions League is winning at home. You must also make sure that in the three games away. You at least get two draws. If you do that, you’re guaranteed qualification in the knockout stage,” he reacted.

“The best thing you can do is win at home. We have to win at home. With how our games are structured, we’re going to play Wydad in our last match of the group. You don’t want to get to that match needing to get a result. You have to do what you need to do as early as possible. You’ve got to have a good start and hit the ground running with your home games,” he concluded.