“Make Home Ground Advantage Count”: Former Pirates Star Lucky Lekgwathi Advises Team Ahead of JS Saoura Match

• Lucky Lekgwathi has advice for his former team, Orlando Pirates, ahead of their Confederation Cup game
• Orlando Pirates will take on Algeria's JS Saoura at the Orlando Stadium in their opening game of the tournament
• Former Orlando Pirates captain, Lucky Lekgwathi believes that a win at home in the first game makes the tournament easier

Former Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi has urged his former side to use playing at home to their advantage when they get their Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup campaign underway on Sunday,

The Buccaneers welcome Algeria’s JS Saoura to the Orlando Stadium in their opening game of the tournament.

Lekgwathi is arguably the most successful captain at Pirates, guiding them to two successive treble-winning seasons. Speaking ahead of the Confederation Cup opener, Lekgwathi said that the tournament gets easier after winning the first home game.

“We are playing at home, I think that is an advantage on its own in the first leg. The guys just need to make sure that they use the home advantage to their fullest, Lekgwathi was quoted as saying by The Citizen.

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Lekgwathi also praised Pirates players, Olisa Ndah and Kwame Peprah, who he said would provide a big boost for the club during the tournament.

Pirates will also be boosted by the return of midfielder, Vincent Pule, and goalkeeper, Richard Ofori. Both players have returned to training after lengthy injuries but are unlikely to feature during Sunday’s encounter, Soccer Laduma reported.

Pirates will also face Libya’s Al Ittihad and Eswatini’s Royal Leopards in Group B of the tournament.

Sudan's Al Hilal gear up for Mamelodi Sundowns clash, Masandawana wary of the aerial threat they face

The highly anticipated Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League gets underway later today when Sudan's Al Hilal Omdurman takes on South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns, Sports Brief reported.

The current Sudanese champions have won the Sudan Premier League a record 28 times and the Sudan Cup seven times. Unlike their opponents, Mamelodi Sundowns, they have never won the CAF Champions League but did finish as runners-up in 1987 and 1992.

Al Hilal are also no strangers to South African teams, having signed two players from South Africa recently. Nigeria’s Abdul Ajagun left Cape Town City for Al Hilal, Soccer Laduma reported, while the club also recently signed Gerald Phiri Junior from Baroka FC.