German-born Tunisia international wary of 'Monster of Africa' Mamelodi Sundowns and reveals a huge advantage ahead of CAF Champions League's date with Esperance

On Saturday, all eyes will be at Loftus Versfeld Stadium where Mamelodi Sundowns host Esperance in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final fixture.

This will be a massive outing for the hosts who enjoy a one-goal advantage following the victory by a solitary strike in the initial meetin staged in Tunis.

Most of Masandawana players have been playing together in the national team Bafana Bafana. According to German-born Tunisia international defender Mohamed Drager, that is a massive advantage for the home team.

I was surprised too that 90% of the Sundowns team has played together in the national team,” he said in his pre-match interview.

“So it’s a big advantage for them, but also it’s nice to see that the national team is choosing local players.”

“At the end of the day, they are doing well at Sundowns and even better in the national team,” the experienced defender continued.

“As I said, we are facing a monster of Africa, not the monster, but for sure a respectable, big team.”

Meanwhile, defender Keanu Cupido has explained why winning the continental crown is special for players.

“I think it’s very big for any player in the country to win the Champions League, everyone dreams of winning the Champions League and playing for a big team like Sundowns, it’s a really huge opportunity for each and every one of us,” he told the club's media team.

"The centre-back also pointed to the added dimension of individual stakes within the collective pursuit, noting that the run to the final gives players a stage to prove themselves at the highest level of African club football.

“It’s actually a chance for everyone to show our qualities also, and last season we were very close, this season we have another opportunity and we learn from last season going into this second leg semi-final as well," Cupido concluded.