Sundowns brace for bruising Champions League battle against physical Enyimba

29 June 2016 - 14:08 By Chumani Bambani

Mental strength will be key when Mamelodi Sundowns takes on a physical Enyimba side in an African Champions League match in Atteridgeville on Wednesday night, kickoff is at 19h30. With Sundowns on zero log points in the competition‚ the encounter against the two-times African Champions League winners will be a test for coach Pitso Mosimane’s ambitions of continental glory.Downs can expect to incur the wrath of an Enyimba side desperate for a win after their 0-1 home defeat to Egyptian side Zamalek in Nigeria in their opener a little over week ago. With the Brazilians having had their points from their victory over ES Setif wiped off after the Algerians were disqualified for crowd violence in their clash against Downs‚ the side from Pretoria admits to be under a bit of pressure now that their group has been reduced to just three teams.“It’s going to be a tough game‚” Sundowns' PSL Player of the Season Khama Billiat said.“There is a lot of pressure because we need the result‚ so we will have to bring our A-game. It’s all in our mind‚ we have to stay focused.”Like any West African opponents‚ the Brazilians expect nothing less than a physical battle against the Nigerian side at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.“They have a good attack. You know the Nigerian bodies – they are gladiators. They are big boys‚ tall‚ muscular with no fat‚" Downs coach Mosimane said.“We are going to see from their two strikers and two centre-backs a very aggressive mentality. We know what tackles we are going to get.” Aside from the physicality that Enyimba will bring‚ the Brazilians also feel that they need to brush up on their set-pieces if they intend on leaving Atteridgeville with any points.Mosimane added that he was otherwise happy with the way his charges have been playing so far.“We also know that the set-pieces will be very important because they can jump and head the ball. You saw in Algeria that we had a bit of a challenge with the set-pieces‚ and that is what Bafana faces as well when they go away‚” said the Sundowns coach.“I think we have the right play and the right team to win. Yes‚ we don’t have the proper balance because we have people who are sick with flu‚ some are suspended and others their contracts have expired.“We don’t have the good group that we have always had. But it happened to Pirates when they went to the final yet they did not even have a keeper on the bench.”The match will kickoff at 7pm. - TMG Digital..

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