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Four fight for two spots (19.10.2001)
Group A
Saturday: Tout Puissant Mazembe (DRC) v Esperance (Tun) in Lubumbashi
Sundowns (RSA) v Julius Berger (Ngr) in Pretoria
Group B
Sunday: Chabab Belouizdad (Alg) v Al Ahly (Egy) in Algiers
Petro Atletico v ASEC Abidjan (CIV) in Luanda
The African Champions League group phase reaches an intriguing climax this weekend with four clubs fighting for two semi-finals places.
Regular campaigners Esperance of Tunisia are sure of progressing whatever their result away to Tout Puissant Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo on a bone-hard pitch in the southern city of Lubumbashi.
Who joins them will be settled in Pretoria with Sundowns of South Africa needing a victory to overtake opponents Julius Berger of Nigeria on the final standings.
Esperance are two points clear at the top with nine, but could miss out on first place if they suffer their first mini-league defeat.
Group A Table
1 Esperance P5 Pts 9 (+2)
2 Berger P5 Pts 7 (+1)
3 Sundowns P5 Pts 6 (-1)
4 Mazembe P5 Pts 4 (-2)
Surprise packets Petro Atletico of Angola seek their fifth consecutive victory when they host ASEC of Ivory Coast, who must win to have any hope of snatching the other place.
Should ASEC upset the odds in Luanda, second-placed Al Ahly of Egypt have to overcome Chabab Belouizdad in Algeria to accompany Petro into the knockout phase.
This pool has produced more than double the goals of the other section.
Berger blow
Nigeria are the only African football superpower never to win the continent`s premier trophy, and Berger received a double blow this week with the death in a car accident of Ogbemudia Aikhionbare and the suspension of Ishola Shaibu.
However, coach Tunde Disu can recall goalkeeper Chijoke Ejiogu and leading scorer Segun Abiodun. Both missed the 1-0 home victory over Mazembe two weeks ago due to suspension.
Flavio can`t stop scoring for Petro
Sundowns have amazingly managed just one goal in five matches - the lowest tally of the eight competitors - and rely excessively on the
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slight frame of young Simba Marumo to torment defenders.
But veteran goalkeeper John Tlale is protected by a Matthew Booth-inspired defence that has kept four blank sheets in five outings.
A contract dispute kept Booth away from the 2-0 loss to Berger in Abeokuta near Lagos, Sundowns` only defeat.
Petro have not looked back since slumping 3-1 at home to Al Ahly in their opening match and two weeks ago became the only the second club to defeat the Red Devils in Cairo and the first foreign club to score four goals there in a stunning 4-2 win.
Flavio Amado is the leading Champions League scorer with eight goals in qualifying and group matches, Kapela Mbiyavanga has struck six and Avelino Lopes five.
Realistic final goal
When Brazilian coach Djalma Cavalcante boasted before the group phase kicked off in August that a place in the final was a realistic goal, most observers dismissed it as wishful thinking.
Group B Table
1 Petro P5 Pts 12 (+3)
2 Al Ahly P5 Pts 9 (+1)
3 ASEC P5 Pts 7 (+6)
4 Chabab P5 Pts 1 (-10)
Now, Petro have not only secured a place among the last four, but are emerging as the team to beat in a competition won only once by a southern Africa club with Orlando Pirates lifting the cup six years ago.
ASEC`s best chance of winning in Angola is hoping Petro will relax, knowing their semi-final spot is secure.
Belouizdad were humiliated 7-0 by ASEC this month, but a fierce, long-standing football rivalry between Algeria and Egypt invariably means a hot reception for visiting teams.
An Egyptian flag was burnt and players and coaches were stoned during a drawn World Cup qualifier in Algeria last July and while a Belouizdad win would be a surprise, it cannot be ruled out.
The team have a lot to prove, with the coach having departed after that defeat to ASEC, amid claims players had conspired to get rid of him.
The semi-finals pit group winners against the runners-up in the other pool with the first legs scheduled for the weekend of November 2-4 and the return matches two weeks later.
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