SA clubs bid for places in expanded African Confederation Cup group stage

South Africa will have three teams in the African Confederation Cup play-off round this coming weekend as BidVest Wits‚ SuperSport United and Platinum Stars all seek a berth in the expanded group stage.

Each will feel they have a good chance too‚ though they come up against strong opposition with the second legs to be played on the weekend of April 15/16.

Times Media Digital brings you the lowdown on who they are up against for a spot in the pool phase.

BIDVEST WITS VS SMOUHA SPORTING CLUB

Wits lost in the first round of the African Champions League qualifiers to Egyptian side Al Ahly‚ and now come up against more opposition from the North African country in the form of Smouha SC having dropped into the Confederation Cup play-off round.

The first leg is at home on Saturday‚ with Wits hoping for a healthy lead and no goals conceded ahead of what will be a difficult trip to the Egyptian resort town of Borg El Arab.

• Malesela struggling to make sense of Chippa's spanking by ruthless CityConceding three goals in just over a quarter-hour and going on to be four down at half-time is a match best forgotten‚ said a gobsmacked Chippa United coach Dan Malesela after his side were beaten 4-1 by Premier Soccer League frontrunners Cape Town City on Monday night. 

There they will face Smouha in the second leg at the 86‚000-seater Borg El Arab Stadium‚ a new venue that was opened a decade ago.

Smouha are coached by Moamen Soliman‚ who should be familiar to South African fans as the man who led Zamalek to the 2016 Champions League final‚ where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Smouha are currently fifth in the Egyptian league and out of the title race‚ but they did defeat Zamalek 2-0 on Saturday for a famous win. They have lost just once at home this season‚ back in October.

They qualified for the Confederation Cup after finishing third in the Egyptian league last season‚ but had a scare in the last round of the competition.

• Zlatan Ibrahmovic back as a lion among pussycats for Manchester UnitedIn a TV interview before Tuesday's match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been asked if he was the best striker in the Premier League. 

They brushed aside Kenyan club Ulinzi Stars in the first leg of their tie 4-0‚ but were then 3-0 losers in the second and had to hang on grimly to advance.

Smouha reached the group stages of the Champions League in 2015‚ but finished last in their pool that also included Moghreb Tétouan (Morocco)‚ Al Hilal (Sudan) and eventual winners TP Mazembe (DR Congo).

They have Egyptian international defenders Ayman Ashraf and Ahmed Dowidar in their squad.

SUPERSPORT UNITED VS BARRACK YOUNG CONTROLLERS

SuperSport must travel to Liberia for the first leg of their play-off tie against Barrack Young Controllers on Sunday.

• Platinum Stars brush aside Baroka FCPlatinum Stars beat Baroka FC 1-0 in their uninspiring Nedbank Cup last 16 clash that was played at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Tuesday night. 

The Monrovia-based club won a third Liberian league title in 2016 and entered the Champions League competition at the start of this year.

They claimed an excellent penalty shoot-out victory over top Mali side Stade Malien in the preliminary round of that competition.

The west Africans then lost on penalties to Mozambique side Ferroviário Beira after their tie had finished 2-2 on aggregate and so drop into the Confederation Cup play-off stage.

Young Controllers are celebrating 20 years of existence in 2017 and play at the modest Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia that can hold 10‚000 fans.

• Larger-than-life Molemela laid to rest in BloemfonteinCharismatic former Bloemfontein Celtic owner Dr Petrus Molemela was laid to rest in Bloemfontein on Tuesday afternoon. 

They are coached by Cooper Sannah and have made a steady start to the defence of their domestic league title with six wins‚ a draw and two defeats from their nine games.

Their home record in African club competition reads three wins‚ a draw and a defeat from five Champions League matches.

Their five away games to date have resulted in four defeats and a draw. This will be their first game in the Confederation Cup.

The majority of their first team players play for the national team and so will be known to former SuperSport and current Mamelodi Sundowns striker Anthony Laffor.

• Liverpool dealt injury blow as Mane's season hangs in balanceLiverpool forward Sadio Mane is out of Wednesday's Premier League clash against Bournemouth with a knee injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season, manager Juergen Klopp said on Tuesday. 

It might be worth Matsatsantsa coach Stuart Baxter putting a call in.

This will be the first ever meeting between clubs from South Africa and Liberia in African competition.

PLATINUM STARS VS ASSOCIATION SPORTIVE TANDA

 Stars are also away in the first leg of their play-off clash as they travel to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast to meet AS Tanda on Sunday.

The game will be played at the tiny Stade Robert-Champroux‚ which has an official capacity of just 3‚000‚ though many more may pack in.

The venue is some 300-kilometres away from the town of Tanda as for the second time in this year’s competition‚ Stars take on a team that has shifted the home leg of their tie to the country’s capital‚ away from their traditional base.

• Eldense coach arrested after 12-0 defeat to Barcelona B team, say Spanish policeThe coach of third division Spanish side Eldense was arrested by police investigating suspicions of match-fixing after his side's 12-0 defeat to Barcelona's B team on Saturday. 

It also happened in the preliminary round against Mozambican side União Desportiva do Songo.

AS Tanda have seen a sudden upturn in their fortunes in recent years‚ having been promoted to Ligue 1 in the Ivory Coast.

They claimed their maiden league title in 2015 and followed that up by retaining their title last year.

They were beaten in the preliminary round of the 2016 Champions League by Tunisian giants Club Africain‚ and this year made it as far as the first round proper before being eliminated 5-1 on aggregate by another Tunisian side‚ Etoile du Sahel.

They had defeated Niger side AS FAN 4-3 on aggregate in the preliminary stage.

• Tinkler expects much more from City's three-goal hero JayiyaCape Town City coach Eric Tinkler says Bongolethu Jayiya can step up his game to a level much higher than the performance that saw the striker score the fastest hat trick in Premier Soccer League history on Monday night. 

The six Champions League matches they have played in their history have resulted in a single victory‚ a draw and four defeats.

This will be their first ever game in the Confederation Cup.

The club is coached by Koffi Firmin and this past weekend won the WAFU Challenge Cup by beating Ghana champions Wa All Stars 3-0 in the semifinal and then edging Senegal side US Goree 2-0 in the final.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport