This is Downs’ best chance to win Champions League - Mnguni

Given Mamelodi Sundowns’ rich vein of form in both the domestic league and the CAF Champions League, ex-player Bennett Mnguni doesn’t see any reason they should not win the continental competition this time.

Sundowns face Esperance in the first-leg seminfinal at Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in Tunisia on Sunday (9pm).

After losing the final against Pyramids last season, Masandawana are determined to qualify for yet another decider and reclaim the competition they first won in 2016. They will also take encouragement from last season’s quarterfinal 1-0 triumph over Espérance.

The 52-year-old former midfielder is encouraged by the form Sundowns are in after winning 10 successive league matches. “I will tell you, the way we [Sundowns] are playing now, we have a big chance of winning it. The boys are determined to win it, and every player wants to see themselves at the [Fifa] Club World Cup,” he told Sowetan.

“They want to see themselves winning another star, and this is an opportunity for every player. These kinds of opportunities come once in a lifetime, and they motivate these boys. The tournament itself is motivating them.

“There was a time when I went to the training field, and every player was joyful. That’s important. If you find a group of players laughing and joking with each other, it tells you these boys are together.”

Mnguni feels that if Downs win against Esperance in the semifinal, neither RS Berkane nor AS FAR would stop them in the final. “We must at least score one goal, then we have a big chance. At home, we can come and finish them,” he said.

“If you win away, you have an advantage. Now we have an advantage starting away, and we need to score.”

Sundowns will be without Aubrey Modiba, who is suspended for this match after he got a straight red card in the semifinal against Stade Malien. Coach Miguel Cardoso is likely to start with Divine Lunga or Fawaaz Basadien at left back.