In Juba, South Sudan
Record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia will be eyeing to give themselves a good shot at progressing to the next round of the 24/25 CAF Champions League when they take on South Sudan’s Al Merreikh Bentiu in the first leg of their First Preliminary Round tie slated for Sunday afternoon at the Juba Stadium.
Playing away from home before the return clash heads to the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on 25 August, K’Ogalo will hope to get the advantage in a bid to advance to the Second Preliminary Round.
Although the 21-time Kenyan champions will be making their return to the continental stage for the first time since 2021, all the expectation is that the Leo Neiva-coached side go into the match as the slight favourites.
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The team will be hoping to build on their last two matches in preseason where they recorded back-to-back 1-0 victories against Tanzania’s Fountain Gate as they wound up their preparations for the new campaign.
Speaking ahead of the match, Neiva expressed confidence in the team’s preparations and listed down what he would like to see from his team before they fly back home on Monday.
“We are ready for the game for sure. We only had a few issues like players who could not join us like Ronney Onyango and Musa Masika but the others are ready. I am also very satisfied and happy because Austin Odhiambo is back and available to play.
We know we are playing away, and we have organized ourselves and prepared with that in mind. Our opponents are very strong and focus on asserting their physicality in the game.
They have a very fast transition from the defensive zone to the offensive zone and they put focus on the long balls which we trained on. Now I want to see effort, energy and purpose from the team so that we impose ourselves physically and tactically,” the Brazilian tactician told SportPesa Blog.
Bentiu on their part will be hoping to cause a big upset when they play with the home advantage in the first leg.
The match is set to kick off at 1600 EAT.
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