USM Alger target second African Super Cup against Mamelodi Sundowns
USM Alger will seek to capture their second African Super Cup on Saturday afternoon when they face South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
The match kicks off at 14:00, with the winners taking home a 500,000-dollar cash prize. If the sides are level after regulation time, the encounter will head straight to a penalty shootout without extra time.
The Algiers club, who arrived in Pretoria on Wednesday, secured their first African Super Cup in September 2023 by beating Egypt's Al-Ahly 1-0 in Saudi Arabia. They qualified for this fixture after winning the CAF Confederation Cup against Zamalek on penalties.
USM Alger was without injured winger Houssam-Eddine Ghacha and attacking midfielder Mohamed Bouderbala, while forward Mohamed Ramdaoui remains a doubt. Midfielder Abderaouf Benguit is back in contention. Senegalese coach Lamine N'diaye praised Sundowns as the continent's top side, but said his team would not arrive as victims and promised to field eleven warriors to make their supporters proud.
Sundowns, the reigning CAF Champions League holders, enter the clash on a 14-match unbeaten run across all competitions, despite suffering an early elimination from this season's Champions League at the hands of Angolan club Wiliete.
Mauritanian referee Dahane Beida will officiate the final, assisted by Senegal's Djibril Camara and Cameroon's Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue, with Mauritania's Abdelaziz Bouh serving as fourth official. Mauritanian Babacar Sarr will oversee video assistant refereeing.
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