Bidvest Wits have the game plan and the type of quick, small forwards to beat Al-Ahly in their Caf Champions League second- leg match, said Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane.
Gavin Hunt's Wits managed a creditable 1-0 defeat in the away first leg in Cairo against Al-Ahly, leaving them with a fighting chance of coming home and winning the first-round tie at Bidvest Stadium today (kickoff: 3.30pm).
Wits are chasing a place in the group stage. Mosimane — with his experience of winning last year's competition — believes The Students have a style of play Egyptian teams will struggle against.
Downs' coach said Wits are clever to play the home leg during the day.
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"That is smart. We did that against Zamalek [in the 2016 final first leg, in Atteridgeville], you remember? Because all the games in Egypt are at night, so play during the day," Mosimane said. "When I look at Wits' game, they have the right tempo, right breaks, quick players like Phakamani Mahlambi and Gabadinho Mhango.
"Play like that with the Arabs and they are always big at the back and so you can beat them. So Hunt has got it right — they can win."
The new expanded group phase of the Champions League, and the addition of quarterfinals, mean there are fewer qualifying rounds — two — in the group stage this year than last year — three.
Wits reached the first round with a 4-3 preliminary round victory over Saint-Louisienne of Reunion.
The Clever Boys will progress into a four-group round-robin phase with a victory today, as opposed to the two groups since the inception of the Champions League, replacing the Champions Cup, in 1997.
The top two teams progress to quarterfinals, rather than the previous progression to semis.
African football faces an uncertain future after Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Issa Hayatou was swept from power and a raft of new officials were voted into powerful positions.
New Caf president Ahmad Ahmad promised wide consultation as he seeks to make the game more inclusive after his shock presidential victory on Thursday at the Caf Congress.
"We need to be open to discussion again and open to advice on how to improve. We want to talk to Africa's top players to see how we can run the game better. We want anyone with a love for football and ideas on how to improve the game to feel they can come and discuss this with us," Ahmad said.
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Hayatou was deposed after 29 years in office and replaced by the unknown Malagasy, who has served as sports and fisheries minister in Madagascar and as a Caf executive for four years.
The diminutive Ahmad, 57, initially looked as bewildered as his predecessor after the result of the vote handed him an upset 35-20 victory. But he quickly flexed his muscle as he persuaded delegates at the Caf Congress to overrule Hayatou, who continued to chair the rest of the meeting despite his election defeat, and postpone important votes on the appointment of independent auditing and oversight structures.
Also left over were changes to the confederation's statutes requested by Fifa, but which did not receive a two-thirds majority from a rebellious Congress.
Caf's administration in Cairo with its new-look executive committee has little experience after Hayatou's allies were summarily removed in elections that followed his own dramatic fall.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino called for support for the new Caf president.
"Now that the elections are over, everyone should be focusing on a bright future for African football," Infantino, 46, told members of the media at the end of the Caf Congress.
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