Orlando Pirates will visit Algeria's MC Alger at the Stade du 5-Juillet-1962 on April 1, looking to continue their unbeaten CAF Champions League campaign in the quarterfinal first leg.
The Buccaneers entered the tournament at the first qualifying round and saw off Madagascar's Disciples FC and then Botswana's Jwaneng Galaxy to earn a spot in the group stage.
There, José Riveiro's men shocked Africa's most successful club - Egypt's Al Ahly - by beating them 2-1 away after a 0-0 draw at home. Pirates topped Group C with Ahly second, Algeria's CR Belouizdad third and Stade d'Abidjan bottom of the pile.
MC Alger, who currently top Algeria's Ligue 1 ahead of CR Belouizdad, scraped through a competitive Group A in the CAF Champions League in second place. They finished behind Sudan's Al Hilal, but ahead of Tanzania's Yanga SC and DR Congo's TP Mazembe.
Having beaten CR Belouizdad home and away, the Buccaneers will fancy their chances against another Algerian side. They will pin their hopes largely on in-form Relebohile Mofokeng, who scored twice in a minute in their 2-1 win over league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns before netting his first international goal in South Africa's 2-0 win over Lesotho.
Soufiane Bayazid has been effective upfront for MC Alger in this season's CAF Champions League, with two goals in the group stage after another against Watanga in the first qualifying round. However, for both these teams, goals can come from anywhere on the pitch.
CAF still utilises the away goals rule, so anything the Buccaneers can get on the road could go a long way towards securing their passage to the semi-finals.
Key details:
Date: Tuesday, April 1 at 9:00 PM CAT (7:00 PM GMT, 3:00 PM ET)
Venue: Stade du 5-Juillet-1962, Dély Ibrahim, Algeria
How to watch: The match is available on SuperSport.
Team news:
Patrick 'Tito' Maswanganyi has had limited minutes recently due to injury setbacks, but after missing South Africa's recent World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin, he is likely to be well-rested and available.
Expected lineups:
MC Alger
GK Abdelatif Ramdane
LB Kamel Hamidi | CB Ayoub Abdellaoui | CB Ayoub Ghezala | RB Réda Halaïmia
CM Larbi Tabti | CM Mohamed Benkhemassa | CM Akram Bouras
LW Amine Messoussa | ST Sofiane Bayazid | RW Tayeb Meziani
Orlando Pirates
GK Sipho Chaine
LWB Deon Hotto | CB Mbekezeli Mbokazi | CB Nkosinathi Sibisi | CB Tapelo Xoki | RWB Deano van Rooyen
CM Thalente Mbatha | CM Makhehlene Makhaula
LW Relebohile Mofokeng | ST Tshegofatso Mabasa | RW Patrick 'Tito' Maswanganyi
Stats:
Orlando Pirates picked up more points than any other team in any group in the CAF Champions League group stage (14).
Relebohile Mofokeng was the joint-third highest scorer in this season's CAF Champions League group stage with 3 goals - all in his last 3 appearances in the competition.
Relebohile Mofokeng has scored 3 goals in his last 3 appearances for club and country combined in all competitions.