APR vs Zamalek CAF Champions League prediction: Match preview, team news, current form & h2h

APR FC host Egyptian giants Zamalek SC in a crucial first-leg CAF Champions League second preliminary round encounter on Friday night.

The Rwandan champions will be hoping to use home advantage to secure a positive result before travelling to Egypt for the return leg.

Zamalek enter the tie as favorites to progress, having comfortably eliminated Port in the previous round.

APR, however, have shown resilience in their own qualifying campaign, recovering from a first-leg defeat against Aigles du Congo to win the return match 3-0.

Zamalek arrive in Rwanda with the advantage of experience and a convincing start to their Champions League qualifying campaign.

They defeated Port 2-1 away before completing the job with a 4-0 home victory, progressing with a 6-1 aggregate score.

The Egyptian club’s ability to produce a strong performance across both legs makes them a serious threat to APR’s hopes.

Here is our predicted outcome for the match.

The match kicks off at 7PM E.A.T at the Amahoro Stadium

Gilbert Mugisha and Mamadou Sy are both fit and will be integral to the hosts attacking formula here.

Taddeo Lwanga and Jean Bosco Ruboneka have proved to be midfield maestros and their ability to disrupt opposition possession could be important.

The rest of the team is set to remain unchanged from the previous round against Aigles de Congo.

As for Zamalek, Ahmed Fatouh, Mohamed El Sayed and Ahmed Hossam are all injured and are unavailable for selection here.

Abdallah El Said is expected to lead Zamalek’s creative force as Chico Banza leads the attacking line.

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These sides have a limited history of meetings in the CAF Champions League, with their previous encounters dating back to 2008.

That gives Zamalek two wins from two recorded meetings, with APR yet to register a victory in this matchup.

APR – WWLWW

Zamalek – LLWWW

• Zamalek 2-0 APR (March 2, 2008)
• APR 1-2 Zamalek (February 16, 2008)
• APR 4-1 Zamalek (April 24, 2004)
• Zamalek 3-2 APR (April 9, 2004)
• APR 0-0 Zamalek (March 24, 2002)

APR have scored three goals against Aigles du Congo and four against Marines in recent matches. Their home advantage gives them a realistic chance of scoring at least once, although Zamalek’s defence will be a tougher test.

Both teams have shown their capability to score goals and both of them are likely to get on the scoresheet.

Prediction – Both teams to score – PLACE YOUR BET ON THIS GAME HERE!