Mamelodi Sundowns' Mokwena: Lubumbashi conditions have been suitable for us

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The Masandawana coach is pleased with what they found in the Haut-Katanga Province where it is usually difficult for visiting teams

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena says they were expecting “extreme conditions” in Lubumbashi ahead of Saturday’s Caf Champions League Group B showdown against Tout Puissant Mazembe but is happy the environment is favourable to them.

Sundowns arrived in the DR Congo on Wednesday and intensified their preparations for the match.

The Brazilians are in Lubumbashi as they try to keep a 100 percent record in this group after winning their two opening games.

“The travelling was okay, pretty decent infact as we had an early flight to Lubumbashi,” Mokwena told Sundowns’ media.

“Fortunately the environment with regards to the weather conditions has been suitable for us perfectly because it was overcast with a little bit of light showers which is good. We were expecting extreme conditions with high levels of heat.

“So it is good for us and also get some form of activation for the body by proper training in the next two days before the match. We did some injury-prevention work so far.”

While appearing to ease the pressure off his Sundowns players, Mokwena says TP Mazembe are the desperate side between the two sides.

The five-time former African champions are yet to pick maximum points or score goals in this group after recording identical 0-0 draws against CR Belouizdad and Al Hilal.

“They [TP Mazembe] push the wingers and full-backs very high but they can also be very conservative and sit on a block to play on the counter because they have very fast players upfront,” said Mokwena.

“So it will be very interesting to see what sort of approach they adopt particularly because they need the three points more than us.

“They are an interesting team. Very good and defensively very strong. We have watched their last three matches, they played the derby [last Sunday against Lubumbashi rivals Saint Eloi Lupopo]. They also played Al Hilal and Belouizdad.

“So in relation to what we have seen we know that they play 4-4-1-1. It will be very interesting because we still have to tactically activate ourselves and make sure that we are ready for a team that has very complex personalities and very aggressive.”

Sundowns have previously faced TP Mazembe five times, winning thrice, including the 2017 Caf SuperCup final, and losing on two occasions.

2021-03-04 18:00:07

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