South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns will host Egypt's Pyramids FC at Loftus Versfeld in the first leg of the CAF Champions League final on Saturday, and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams hopes to make 'millions happy'.
Sundowns head into this game fresh off the back of lifting the Betway Premiership title, and Sundowns goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams told ESPN that a Champions League win would be the most important achievement of his career.
The Bafana Bafana stopper said: "I think that would be the most important [achievement], because I know that would make millions and millions of people happy.
"All the Mamelodi Sundowns supporters - whereas when Ronwen wins [awards], the team is happy and the club is happy, but once the team wins, there's millions and millions of people who support Mamelodi Sundowns and you make them happy.
"I think we just need - or we're craving - that second star (for being African champions again after Sundowns' first triumph in 2016). It's so important for us."
Pyramids, meanwhile, are fighting Al Ahly for top spot in the Egyptian Premier League and will face Zamalek in the Egyptian Cup final on June 5, four days after the second leg against the Brazilians.
Having edged Ahly - Africa's most successful club - on away goals in the semi-finals, Sundowns are now favourites for the final. The 2016 champions have experience on their side against a Pyramids side that will be playing their first Champions League final.
Experience played a key role in helping them see off Ahly. The first leg of their semi-final was a 0-0 draw and Ahly drew first blood in the second leg through a 24th minute Taher Mohamed goal.
However, Sundowns kept calm and kept pushing. Eventually, a Yasser Ibrahim own goal in the 90th minute saw the South African champions draw level on aggregate and take the win on away goals.
Key details:
Date: Saturday, May 24 at 3:00 PM CAT (1:00 PM GMT, 9:00 AM ET)
Venue: Loftus Versfeld
How to watch: The match is available on SuperSport
Team news:
Abdelrahman Magdy and Ramadan Sobhi have missed recent league fixtures for Pyramids with injury issues. Sobhi has had recurring problems and is rumoured to be on his way out of the club soon, but if fit, he could play a crucial role after scoring against Orlando Pirates in Pyramids' 3-2 semi-final win.
Sundowns are still without defender/midfielder Rivaldo Coetzee after his ACL injury against Cape Town City in October. While he has reportedly been getting closer to full fitness, it would be unusual for Miguel Cardoso to throw him in the deep end in a fixture of this magnitude.
Expected lineups:
Mamelodi Sundowns
GK Ronwen Williams
LB Aubrey Modiba | CB Mosa Lebusa | CB Grant Kekana | RB Khuliso Mudau
CM Marcelo Allende | CM Teboho Mokoena | CM Jayden Adams
LW Tashreeq Matthews | ST Iqraam Rayners | RW Lucas Ribeiro Costa
Pyramids
LB Mohamed Hamdi | CB Mahmoud Marei | CB Ahmed Samy | RB Mohamed Chibi
CM Abdelrahman Magdy | CM Walid El Karti | CM Blati Touré
LW Ibrahim Adel ST Fiston Mayele | RW Karim Hafez
Stats:
Mamelodi Sundowns have won with clean sheets in six consecutive fixtures across all competitions.
Ibrahim Adel and Fiston Mayele are the joint-top scorers in this season's CAF Champions League with five goals each, level with Al Ahly's Emam Ashour.