Esperance Tunis vs Mamelodi Sundowns Prediction: It is a clash of Titans

The other half of the CAF Champions League Semi Finals. Esperance Tunis take on the AFL Champions Mamelodi Sundowns in a tie that might see one of these two giants of African football lose their unbeaten streak. Will it be the team from South Africa or will it be the boys from Tunisia. We will all be glued to our screens over the two legs, waiting to see who wins this tie. 

Here are markets to consider adding to your bet slip...

3 Way – Draw 39/20 

“This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object”, you might be wondering which is the unstoppable force and which one is the immovable object? in this case the unstoppable force is Mamelodi Sundowns, who have gone 20 games without tasting defeat. The Immovable object is Esperance de Tunis, who have gone 15 games without a loss.

These are two teams who are so close to perfect in all competitions it is scary to think about facing either one of them. However, this is a cup competition. There are no points to be shared, just one spot in the CAF Champions League final up for grabs. You look at the last 7 matches played by either side and you find that both have 2 draws in their last 7 matches.

The big differentiator is that Mamelodi Sundowns has not won against Esperance Tunis. Even when they met in these competitions group stages in the 17/18 season. It ended in a draw and a defeat for Sundowns. Since have changed for both clubs since then and Esperance did go on to win this competition in the following season.

For both these teams this is a chance for them to feature in the final this decade for the first time. Wydad Casablanca and Al Ahly have dominated this competition in recent times and with Wydad missing from the last 4 this is a good opportunity for either one of these sides to make a statement by winning it. 

Esperance Tunis, for all their dominance this season. They failed to score a goal in open play in the previous round of this competition, winning their tie-on penalties. Sundowns experienced the same thing against Young Africans with the pragmatic approach being needed against one of the free scoring sides in the competition.  

Domesitcally Esperance Tunis have finished group 2 in the Tunisian Ligue 1 without a defeat. they remain unbeaten In the championship round of the competition. Their dominance over Tunisian football was undisputed until last season ended with ES Sahel as champions of the Ligue 1 and the Tunisian giants had to settle for second place. They have restored their dominance on the domestic front but now they need to do the same on the continental stage.

For Mamelodi Sundowns, it is a case of managed expectations. despite the CAF Champions League, they still must play in the Nedbank Cup and the DSTV Premiership. those two competitions make it that they have 5 more games more on their schedules than their opponents. Esperance have uninterrupted back to back clashes with Sundowns, while Sundowns have a clash with top 6 Sekhukhune United ahead of the second leg in Pretoria.  

Whatever your expectation for this match, prepare to be disappointed. This is the CAF Champions League and like we saw in the UEFA Champions League, Stats and favourites have nothing to do with it. It is sheer hunger and determination that prevails. That is why I’ll give this one a draw.