Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena, believes that the match against Al Hilal is a match that Sundowns has to win.
Masandawana take on the 17-times Sudanese champions in Caf Champions League Group B today.
“It’s a good game in prospect against a very good team and with a good coach [Florent Ibenge],” said Mokwena. “It’s important for us to continue to win and try to prepare for the rest for the Caf Champions League.
We don’t have players who are absent, we came here with every player that we can possibly bring. And we want to make sure that we have the best possible team on the pitch.”
Sundowns beat Al Hilal 4-2 in last season’s Champions League match but Mokwena says last few meetings the two sides will not on Saturday.
“Football is not played with history, Al Hilal is a good team with Florent Ibenge and they were a good team even last season and the season before that. They have a very good side with a possibility to hurt us. The conditions will be difficult, we have to make we don’t play based on history.
“We will not rest players. The reason why Themba Zwane is here is because he is playing and this is a match we want to win. The captain represents part of the line up you should expect.
“We don’t have a reserve team at Sundowns, all our players are important and they must help us win e very football match. We’ve been here before and we know how to play these matches and we will deal with the heat during the 90 minutes. It was difficult in in Cameroon and did last season and we have to do it again this season.”
By Zola Doda