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The first round of the CAF Champions League quarter-final matches will be held this weekend, while Horoya and CS Constantine would like to present themselves for the first time in the semifinals.
Horoya's bid to make history by reaching for the first time the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League faces a tough test when she host Wydad Casablanca in Conakry on Saturday.
Last season, the Guinean champions' campaign ended in the quarter-finals, which until now is their best performance in this competition.
Now they are looking to go beyond that and reach the semifinals.
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But their attempt faces a tough test against double Wydad Casablanca champion, whose last triumphant feats of this tournament were as recent as 2017.
Horoya is engaged in this battle without the suspended duo of defensive midfielder Djibo Wonkoye and Ghana defender Godfred Asante.
The absence of both players should not worry the coach Didier Gomes, who is facing a Wydad team that seems to have little threat in attack.
Moroccan strikers have not scored goals this season, leaving defender Mohammed Nahiri in first place with three goals.
Tunisian coach Faouzi Benzarti, who led the Carthage Eagles to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) this year, boasts of Wydad as one of the brains of African football, before stinting. to be fired.
While Horoya is aiming for first place in the semi-finals, the Algerian champions, the Constantine Sports Club, also want to write the same piece of history when they welcome the Espérance, defending champion, at the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui.
Constantine has already broken the barriers by entering the group stage for the first time this season and is now looking to build on its Champions League momentum.
With former Cameroon coach Denis Lavagne leading their technical bench, Constantine has enough tips to help them qualify for the last four.
But Esperance, hardened by the battle, remains on its way, hurt by the defeat of the Coffee Super Cup against Raja Casablanca last weekend.
Meanwhile, four-time All-Power champion Mazembe received a welcome boost after veteran striker Tresor Mputu recovered from malaria before his clash with Simba Sports Club in Dar es Salaam.
The Congolese giants are on a territory where Simba seems invincible, after defeating Al Ahly and AS Vita this season.
Mputu knows that Simba turned the Benjamin Mkapa Nationbal Stadium into a fortress, where he has won all of his CAF Champions League matches this season.
"We are in Dar es Salaam to play knowing that it will be a difficult meeting," Mputu told the TP Mazembe website.
"All teams have fallen in front of Simba SC on this field, but we are competitors and we know what to do. There are quality players in the team, experienced players and young people who have tasted the competition. "
However, although Mputu is ready to play, another striker, Ben Malango, could not recover from an injury.
Mazembe coach Pamphile Mihayo may not worry much, as he still has what appears to be a deadly strike force with Kevin Mondeko, Jackson Muleka and Mputu at his disposal.
Like Mazembe, Al Ahly, who travels to Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria, is also walking in a potential minefield.
Al Ahly has eight titles in the Champions League and wants to avenge his anguish to finish second in the last two seasons.
But they come up against a Sundowns team that has been steadfast in Africa in recent seasons, including winning the 2016 edition.
As the Sundowns establish themselves as a strong team that can upset all teams on the continent, their coach, Pitso Mosimane, has chosen to be a diplomat, praising Al Ahly.
"It's (Al Ahly) a big club, a very big club. It's bigger than the Wydad if you thought the Wydad is big. it's bigger than the expectation. It's huge, the team of the century, "said Mosfane, quoted by Kingfut.
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"They are the biggest team on the continent. Just look at the badge, just look at the stars. Then you realize we are little boys, we did not do anything.
"They make $ 6 million transfers; can you believe that in Africa? We sell cheaper players than that in Europe. They had Ramadan Sobhi from the English Premier League (Huddersfield), they brought him back. I mean how much do they need to pay?
The injured Liberian striker, Sundowns, will be out, but with Champions League top scorer Themba Zwane available, Mosimane can afford not to worry.
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