This weekend marks the halfway point of the group campaign, which will be completed in double quick time by the middle of next month.
Al Hilal (Sudan)
Sundowns’ opponents at Loftus Versfeld are no strangers. This will be the ninth meeting between the two clubs with Sundowns having lost the first clash away in 2008 but none since.
This is the fourth time in the last seven years that they meet in the group stage. Al Hilal are record Sudanese champions but because of the civil war in their country are forced to play outside of the country.
Last season they were guests in the Mauritania league, which they won, and this campaign are competing in Rwanda, where Kigali is now their base for the Champions League.
But they have been home, albeit in Port Sudan, for a Sudanese mini league competition this month. The side are coached by Laurențiu Reghecampf from Romania, who took over at Esperance in Tunisia from Miguel Cardoso when he went to Sundowns.
Al Hilal had 11 players in the Sudan squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. They share top place in Group C with four points from their opening two games.
Chabab Belouizdad (Algeria)
When the draw was made and Stellenbosch were pitted in Group C with the Algerian outfit, it set up another tussle between ex-TS Galaxy coach Saed Ramovic and Steve Barker, who always had the upper hand over the German-Bosnian coach whenever they took on Stellenbosch.
But Barker has since left for Tanzania. Ramovic now goes up against Gavin Hunt, having taken Belouizdad to second place in the Algerian league, but they are 12 points behind runaway leaders Mouloudia Algeri, coached by Ramovic’s nemesis Rulani Mokwena.
Belouizdad have three points from their opening two group matches in the Confederation Cup, one behind the team from the Winelands.
The club have met Sundowns six times but no other South African club previously and lost five times to the Brazilians with one win in Pretoria, when admittedly Sundowns had already secured progress.
CRB’s new mid-season signing, Ivorian striker Jean-Charles Ahoua from Tanzania’s Simba, is expected to debut on Sunday.
Zesco United (Zambia)
The electricity company team are in seventh place in the Zambian Super League with as many games (six) won as they have lost as they prepare to face Chiefs.
They have been victorious in only three of the 12 games they played since early November and lost their opening two matches in Group D of the Confederation Cup. Zesco reached the semi-final of the Champions League in 2016 before losing narrowly to Sundowns, who went on to win the African crown.
Ahead of the visit from Chiefs, the club have added Emmanuel Manda and Gabon teenager Derrick Obame to their squad, which is coached by Mathews Ndhlovu, who himself is relatively new, having only taken over in November.
