Photo Credit: Stade d'Abidjan Officiel
Two clubs fighting for relevance in Group C of the CAF Champions League will clash at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan when Les Yéyés of Stade d'Abidjan host famous Algerian giants CR Belouizdad. Both teams suffered defeats in their Group C openers and a defeat on Saturday (16:00 GMT) will mark the beginning of an uphill battle.
Stade d'Abidjan
Captain Seydou Touré and the Stade d'Abidjan defense will need to be better on Saturday
Photo Credit: Stade d'Abidjan Officiel
It was a nightmare start to the group stage in Cairo for Stade d'Abidjan who conceded three goals in the opening thirty minutes in a 4-2 defeat to Al Ahly. However the reigning Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire champions showed improvement and could very well have stolen a point from the African club champions if their finishing was precise in the second half. Young French coach Alexandre Lafitte has some positive signs to take from the opening match and his charges are capable of taking advantage of a CRB team that is still discovering its chemistry.
Former Ivory Coast national team regular Roger Assalé will be the focal point of the attack. The former Young Boys Bern and TP Mazembe star scored against Al Ahly and is showing his class since returning to the football scene in his native Ivory Coast after seven seasons in European club football. Central defender and captain Seydou Touré will demand more of his defensive unit while former ASEC Mimosas midfielder Essis Aka also adds to the experience of the group.
CR Belouizdad
Veteran coach Abdelkader Amrani has brought stability to a CRB team that continues to recover from a difficult start to the 2024-25 season. The 2-1 home defeat to Orlando Pirates in their opening Champions League match interrupted a three-match winning streak in Algeria's Ligue 1 and Amrani has many influential players to call upon. The issue for CRB is that while they have several impressive goal scorers, the playmaking quality is less and something that figures to hinder their hopes of reaching the latter stages of the competition.
The presence of Algeria national team all-time leading scorer Islam Slimani along with Aymen Mahious and big money signing Khanyisa Mayo gives Amrani a constant dilemma. Slimani appears set to start against Stade after coming off the bench last weekend but South African forward Mayo may earn an opportunity from the start after scoring in the last two matches. Abderrahmane Meziane is the influential winger who will be counted upon for service to whatever combination Amrani selects up top.
Otherwise, the experienced defense was exposed for a lack of pace against Orlando Pirates but remains strong. Chouaib Keddad and Houcine Benayada are the defensive leaders and have a strong midfield ahead of them led by Abdelraouf Benguit and Houssein Selmi. Cameroonian Jacques Mbe is another option after joining from Tunisia's Étoile du Sahel but his performance against Orlando Pirates was lacking.
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