The mighty Sundowns have have had a mixed start to this season’s CAF Champions League (CAFCL) grop stage run with a win over St-Eloi Lupopo and a draw against MC Alger.
Looking ahead to the championship ambition, former goalkeeper Calvin Marlin spots a concern.
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS SUNDOWNS’ FITNESS TO FACE QUESTIONS
According to Marlin, the squad has the quality and experience to compete, but feels that a disrupted preseason due to the FIFA Club World Cup could influence their campaign.
“The most important thing is most of their players have been playing in this competition for a couple of years now,” Marlin told The South African. “They know what to expect and they have all the experience. The next question is what kind of form they’ll bring into the Champions League.
“Their schedule has been hectic over the last couple of years. Hopefully, it’s not going to catch up with them, because they haven’t really had a proper pre-season due to the FIFA Club World Cup. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
“They’ll be strong enough to get out of the group into the quarterfinals. The group stages won’t trouble them. It’s in the last eight where things get really interesting,” Marlin concluded.
KABO YELLOW’S CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RECORD
- 2015/16: Champions after beating Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate
- 2016/17: Lost in the quarterfinals to Wydad Casablanca
- 2017/18: Group stages exit
- 2018/19: Lost in the semifinals to Wydad
- 2019/20: Lost in the quarterfinals to Al Ahly
- 2020/21: Lost in the quarterfinals to Al Ahly
- 2021/22: Lost in the quarterfinals to Petro de Luanda
- 2022/23: Lost in the semifinals to Wydad
- 2023/24: Lost in the semifinals to Esperance
- 2024/25: Lost in the final to Pyramids FC.