On the second matchday of the CAF Champions League, AmaZulu FC from South Africa and Horoya AC from Guinea will meet in Group B at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Spectators are not allowed. The kick-off is at 20:00. We have taken a closer look at the two teams for you.
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What speaks for AmaZulu FC?
- Higher level of the South African league
- Strong at home
- Coach with a lot of experience
What speaks for Horoya AC?
- Strong defence
- More Champions League experience
Our betting tip
- Bet: AmaZulu win, under 2.5, Correct score 1:0
- Bookmaker: Interwetten, Bet365
- Odds: 1.73/1.40/8.0
Both AmaZulu and Horoya suffered 1-0 defeats to open the group stage of the CAF Champions League. AmaZulu lost at Moroccan top club Raja Casablanca, while the champions from Guinea suffered an unnecessary home defeat against ES Sétif from Algeria. Both teams now face a crucial match.
Expert analysis AmaZulu FC
AmaZulu finished last season in the South African Premier League as surprising runners-up. Only serial winners Mamelodi Sundowns were ultimately unstoppable for the traditional team from Durban. Victories over Nyasa Big Bullets from Malawi and a surprise win over Tout Puissant Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo saw them reach the group stage of the CAF Champions League – a great success and a historic premiere for coach Benni McCarthy’s team.
As a player, McCarthy once had a great time in the forward line of Celta Vigo or FC Porto. As a coach, McCarthy has been with Usuthu since December 2020 and has averaged 1.5 points with the Durban side. (Usuthu is the nickname of AmaZulu and refers to a Zulu war cry).
Against last year’s CAF Confederation Cup and multiple Champions League winners Raja Casablanca, Usuthu held their own and could well have taken the lead when veteran Makhehlene Makhaula had a great chance when he hit the post. In the end, however, Raja had more chances on their home soil and took the lead in the 70th minute through Mautaouali.
Against the champions from Guinea, they want to build on their good game against the Moroccan top team. All hopes rest on top attacker Amigo Luvoyo Mulenga, who has already collected 7 scorer points in the league, and the lively left-winger Augustine Mulenga, one of the few legionnaires in the team. Mulenga comes from Zambia and is currently the player with the highest market value in the team (750.000€).
Expert analysis Horoya AC
Unlike the home team from South Africa, the 18-time champions from Guinea are already regulars in the Champions League. They also qualified for the group stage last year and even made it to the quarter-finals once in 2018. However, the biggest success in the club’s history dates back a proud 45 years: in 1976, the then newly founded club won the African Cup Winners’ Cup.
Coach Lamine N’Diaye‘s team qualified for the group stage with two wins against Stade Malien Bamako from Mali.
Horoya made an unfortunate start to the group stage with a home defeat to Setif. Not entirely innocent in the 1-0 defeat was goalkeeper Moussa Camara, who left the goal far too early on a Setif counter-attack, allowing himself to be played off and allowing the Algerians to simply shoot the ball into the empty net. After centre-forward Yakhouba Barry was shown the red card for a needless foul shortly afterwards and Horaya played shorthanded, the game could not be turned around anymore. Horoya is now already under pressure in their second group game – and also have to replace Barry.
The main problem for Horoya is clearly the lack of competition at home. They have been champions in Guinea since 2011 with only one exception, and this year there is no one in the league who can stop them either. After 15 games they are already 8 points ahead of their pursuers Milo FC and Wakriya AC. They have conceded only 3 goals in all their games and won their last 9 games in a row without conceding a goal (!). But on the big Champions League stage, the lower level of the opponents can be a big disadvantage.
But last season they also faced a South African team in the group stage. They drew 0-0 away in South Africa and 2-2 at home against eventual finalists Kaizer Chiefs. In previous years, they also kept pace with Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
Head-2-Head & Statistics
This is the first encounter between both sides, they never met before.
A strong defence is a distinctive feature of Horoya’s game. As mentioned earlier, the team has conceded only 3 goals in the domestic league. In matches Horoya have been involved in, they have scored an average of just 1.47 goals, only three times conceding more than 2 goals (12 times under 2.5!).
Horoya’s games in last year’s group stage were also characterised by a goal drought: out of 6 games, 5 ended with less than 3 goals, only in one game did both teams score.
It’s not much more entertaining at AmaZulu, though. In the South African Premier League, only 1.35 goals were scored in matches involving Usuthu.
Only in 4 of the 20 matches, more than 2 goals were scored and 12 times there was a draw (4x 0:0, 5x 1:1, 3x 2:2). At home in Durban, they have not lost a game this season. They have conceded only 4 goals in 10 those home games.
Betting tip for AmaZulu FC vs. Horoya AC
All indications are that this will be a game without many goals. Both teams will focus on defence. But AmaZulu played a really good game against Raja Casablanca and if this performance can be repeated at home in Durban, then Horoya can also be beaten. The odds on under 2.5 @1.40 look very low, but are a very very probable outcome. Try also the 1:0 correct score at a high 8.0!
So far only Bet365 and Interwetten have this game in offer. On Matchday more will follow.
