Cape Town - South African visitors Mamelodi Sundowns FC will face a stern test against Cameroonian giants Coton Sport in a CAF Champions League Group B match at Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua, on Friday evening (6pm, SA time).
It will be Sundowns' first trip out of the country since they travelled to Luanda, Angola, last season for a Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash against Petro de Luanda.
Sundowns have gone to great lengths to ensure the team arrives in the best possible shape by flying out in a chartered plane from Johannesburg to Garoua International airport. The team arrived on Thursday morning and trained in extreme heat conditions on Thursday afternoon.
Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena told the Cameroon press that his side is braced for a clash against a team that usually performs well in home games.
“Coton Sport is a team that has more strengths than weaknesses," said Mokwena. "Their team has a different profile when they are at home. This is a very aggressive team when going forward with good counter-attacks and physicality.
“We expect a very good game on Friday. All group B games are big ones.
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"Coton Sport are well coached. They are doing very well in the domestic league with good players. We have done our homework. We look forward to the game.
“Now we’re watching out for everybody. Coton Sport is watching out for Sundowns, the same way Sundowns is watching out for Coton Sport, and Ahly are looking out for Hilal. It is what happens when you have four good teams in a group.
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“We always try to have a very good team on the pitch. We send out a team which is able to perform and try to get results. We will always do our best to try and win a football match."
Sundowns will return to Johannesburg on Saturday morning.
IOL Sport