Esperance vs Al Ahly Predictions: First leg excitement

For many South Africans this is not the CAF Champions League final that they had predicted. No Mamelodi Sundowns, but it is an exciting match ahead. The CAF Champions League first leg will feature the team of the century Al Ahly and Esperance Tunis of Tunisia. If recent form is anything to go by, the first leg, will be a muted one.

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3 Way - Draw 33/20

You can't mention the CAF Champions League final without mentioning AL Ahly. They have featured in each of the last 5 finals, going on to win 2 and finishing with 3 silver medals. They have made the CAF Champions League their own, with continued dominance and an unwavering desire to be crowned the best team on the continent. Esperance Tunis last met Al Ahly in the final of the 2018 CAF Champions League. They managed to secure the title after losing 3-1 in the first leg and going on to win 3-0 in the second leg. Ending the tie with an Aggregate score of 4-3 in favour of Esperance. In that instalment of the competition, the first leg was played in Egypt and this time around the first leg will be played in Tunisia, giving Esperance home ground advantage in the second leg. Both these teams have Champions League pedigree and will believe they can go own to claim the crown.

Al Ahly will find comfort in their head to head statistics that indicate that Al Ahly has successfully recorded 4 wins in a row against Esperance. All 4 wins came with a clean sheet and Al Ahly have been the first team on the score sheet against Esperance in 6 out of their last 7 meetings. Al Ahly can also count on their recent form as an indication of strength coming into this fixture. They have no losses in their last 6 matches and 5 wins in row. Esperance however, have struggled domestically. They were knocked out of the Coupe de Tunisie by Oceano Club de kerkennah. This result came after They had lost for the first time in the league this season. Whatever is going on at the Esperance Tunis camp, will not affect how they approach this match. They will be laser focused on the task at hand and put their best foot forward when these two teams meet on Saturday evening.

This brings me to my prediction. This season's CAF Champions League has served us with some mouth watering soccer. We saw giants of African football clash, for a chance at being crowned the best team on the continent. Now that we have reached the final. You can't help but wonder if this first leg will follow the same theme as most matches played in the knock out stages of this competition. A muted first leg that will end in a draw or a low scoring 1 goal margin win for the favourite. I don't think either side will throw caution to the wind and play all out attacking football. This match will come alive, in the second leg. The first leg will be played diligently with both teams aiming to make the second leg with an advantage or level playing field.