Caf Champions League: Al Hilal very interesting team but Mamelodi Sundowns have done ‘our homework’ – Mokwena

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena has admitted they have done their work in readiness for their Caf Champions League Group A fixture against Al Hilal in Khartoum on Saturday.

The South African Premier Soccer League champions will head into their fifth match of the group campaign needing either a draw or a fourth win to secure qualification to the knockout round.

Ahead of the fixture at the Al Hilal Stadium, Mokwena has revealed they anticipate a tough game from a side they beat 1-0 in the first meeting at Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

What did Mokwena say?

“They [Al Hilal] need a win; they changed their structure from the last game against Al Merrikh where they also needed three points,” Mokwena told the media. “They played a different formation with two strikers, where traditionally they have played with a 4-2-3-1 throughout the group phases.

“We will see what happens, we’ve done our work, we’ve analysed their last four games since they played us. They are a very interesting team with some very good players, some of the players that we know – they are a well-coached team and we expect a very difficult game.”

On the team’s trip to Sudan, Mokwena explained: “We traveled well, the flight to Addis Ababa was quite long but we are used to that when we travel to Khartoum.

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“The layover was about 4 hours and then we had another three-hour flight to get us to Khartoum. We arrived in the early hours of the morning, at 4 am to have breakfast before resting and making our way to the pitch for a training session in the afternoon.”

Meanwhile, Mokwena has further shed some insight on the team’s training itinerary for the day.

‘We worked on our activation’

“We got a community field within the organization, it is okay, it is what we have and we have to make do with what we have,” Mokwena continued.

“We just worked on our activation and injury prevention, the major muscles in the individual’s bodies because with long traveling you always have the possibility of issues in the body, so you have to “wake them up” and try to prepare from a physiological aspect.”

After four matches played, Sundowns top Group A with 10 points, while Egyptian giants Al Ahly, Al Hilal and Al-Merrekh are all on four points.