Al-Ahly Walid Soliman (centre) vies for the ball with Setif defenders Miloud Rebiai (left) and Radouani Saadi. The sides are set to meet in the CAF Champions League semifinal first leg match on Saturday. (Photo by AFP)
Title-holders Al Ahly of Egypt host Algerian side Entente Setif in a CAF Champions League semi-final first leg on Saturday, boasting a record of 11 overall victories in 12 last-four ties.
ALSO READ: Chiefs’ marketing guru Jessica Motaung lands plum Caf role
Only in 2010 did the Cairo Red Devils slip up, losing on away goals to long-time arch rivals Esperance of Tunisia after both teams won narrowly at home.
Captained by Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed el Shenawy and coached by South African Pitso Mosimane, Ahly hope to cast aside poor domestic form and move closer to a record third straight Champions League title and 11th overall.
Here, AFP Sport highlights five things to know about the Caf Champions League semi-finals as Ahly face Setif, and surprise qualifiers Petro Luanda of Angola entertain Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.
Statistics confirm that playing at home is advantageous, as 48 of the 84 semi-final games have been won by the hosts, with 22 drawn and 14 producing away victories.
A total of 192 goals were scored at an average of 2.28 per match, with home teams notching 131 and away sides just 61.
Ahly hold the record for the most goals in a single match, thumping former champions Etoile Sahel of Tunisia 6-2 in Cairo five seasons ago with Walid Azaro scoring a hat-trick.
No club are better equipped to deal with semi-final pressure than Ahly, who have won 13 of 24 penultimate-stage matches, drawn seven and lost just four.
Only Esperance in 2001 — the year semi-finals were introduced — and Coton Sport of Cameroon 12 years later have drawn with Ahly in Cairo, but those excellent away results did not prevent aggregate defeats.
Ahly and Setif clashed in 2018 and Walid Soliman scored in both legs for the Egyptians, who triumphed 2-0 at home and lost 2-1 away.
Recently appointed Setif coach Darko Novic is hoping for a change of fortunes this month having been on the coaching staff of Libyan club Al Ittihad when they lost a 2007 semi-final against Ahly.
He was assistant to fellow Serb Branko Smiljanic in a tight encounter with a 0-0 draw in Tripoli followed by a 1-0 win for Ahly in Cairo.
Novic is the third coach used by two-time African champions Setif this season after Tunisian Nabil Kouki, axed following a group loss to AmaZulu in South Africa, and Algerian caretaker Redha Bendris.
Wydad have been remarkably consistent in the marquee African club competition, reaching the semi-finals this season for the sixth time in seven attempts.
This compares most favourably with Casablanca neighbours and arch rivals Raja, who have reached the semi-finals only once in the same period.
What Wydad will want to eradicate is poor home form at the last-four stage as they lost to Ahly two seasons ago and, sensationally, to Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa last year.
Petro, a club bankrolled by the oil industry in a country that is one of the two biggest African producers along with Nigeria, are back in the semi-finals after a 21-year absence.
The Luanda outfit upset Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the quarter-finals last month, avenging a 2001 semi-final loss to the Pretoria club after a penalty shootout.
Petro and Wydad know each other well, having qualified for the knockout phase from the same group. The Angolan club won 2-1 at home but crashed 5-1 in the return match.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
