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Pitso: I need tigers for the Wydad match

Cape Town – Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is aware of the danger Wydad Casablanca can cause his charges when two sides clash on Friday evening.

The Brazilians left for Casablanca on Monday morning having secured a spot in the semi-finals of the MTN8 after beating Golden Arrows 2-0 on Saturday at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

Sundowns will fly to Morocco via Ghana and will arrive in Casablanca on Tuesday morning.

Three days later they take on the reigning African champions Wydad in their second last match of the group stage of the CAF Champions League.

Wydad top Group C with eight points while Sundowns sit in second place with five points.

Horoya of Guinea also has five points in third place while AS Togo-Port are rooted at the bottom with three points.

“I don’t think that Wydad will give you an opportunity for an all-out attack,” Mosimane said as quoted from the club’s official website.

“They are a big team, they are a strong team. You will see a sea of red in the stands. You know the story. They will push us back. We need to be compact. We need to be smart. We can get a few breaks. You don’t get many opportunities there. But Sundowns always gets one or two chances to score. We need to manage that. If we don’t win, get a draw.

“They respect us. I need to get the right balance in midfield for that match. I need tigers for that match, people who will grind to get a result. It might not look pretty but we must keep going and probing. If you get three points, then you’ll be happy. One might also be enough because we have to sort out Horoya here in our last game.

“Wydad are a difficult team. They know how to manage the game. They play cleverly. You must be careful of penalties. They are very good at set-pieces. We conceded a goal from a corner kick the last time we played them.

“When the time favours them they delay the game. They do anything. You know the North Africans. The Champions League is a different kettle of fish.

“It’s an awkward tournament. But we know how to play it. It has its problems with travelling,” he added.

Kick-off is at 20:00 (SA time).

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