CAF Champions League
Vipers SC vs Al Hilal
St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende
Saturday, 28-11-2020 @4pm
Vipers SC will be all out for victory on Saturday when they host Sudanese side Al Hilal at the St. Mary’s stadium in Kitende.
The Venoms are at home in the first leg of the CAF Champions League Preliminary round and will hope to use this in their advantage as they attempt to secure passage to the next round.
The game comes exactly eight months and 22 days since the Kitende based side played a competitive game with their last coming in a 0-0 draw away to Wakiso Giants FC in the Uganda Premier League on March 06.
The lack of competitive action will be some hurdle to negotiate for Fred Kajoba’s side who have always failed in their bid to reach the lucrative group stage of the competition.
This is their third attempt after falling in both 2016 and 2018.
In 2016, they lost 2-1 against Nigerian side Enyimba before they were eliminated at the first round in 2018 by CS Constantine of Algeria.
Saturday’s game will see the Venoms welcome back three players from lengthy injuries. Livingstone Mulondo, Rashid Toha and Muhammad Shaban all missed the entire 2019/20 season due to career threatening injuries but will be available for selection and their participation is entirely down to the technical team.
The Venoms have also acquired several players in the off-season some of whom will most likely take part against Al Hilal. David Bagoole, Ibrahim Oriti, Jamil Kaliisa, Disan Galiwango and Ceaser Manzoki Lobi have all come in as new signings nd will be hoping for their debuts for Vipers SC.
What they are saying ahead of the game
Fred Kajoba, Vipers SC head coach
“We have been working on quite a lot and we are happy that the team is very positive.
“The lads are in great shape and beaming with confidence. We are keen to get the best results on Saturday.
“We know that Al Hilal are an experienced side with good players including Salim Jamal who is my goalkeeper on the National team but we as a club have our targets one of which is reaching the group stages of the CAF Champions League.
“I hope that we will fulfil that target, we as coaches, players and administration is aware that this is the right time for us to make a good run in this competition.”
Halid Lwaliwa, Vipers SC captain
“We want to get to the group stages this time round, and we are quite ready for whatever challenge comes our way.
“The morale in camp is too high. We have prepared very well with the coaches and everyone is ready and confident for the game.”
Unlike Vipers, Al Hilal have consistently participated in the CAF Champions League.
The Sudanese outfit have been in the competition on 34 different occasions, reaching the final in 1987 and 1992.
Last season, they reached the group stage, finishing 3rd in a group that also featured eventual winners Al Ahly of Egypt.
Against Vipers on Saturday, they will hope their experience in the competition comes into play and they pick a good result, one they can build on to see out the tie in the second game next week.
Match Facts
This will be Vipers SC 7th game in the CAF Champions League since their debut in 2016 winning twice and losing on all the other four occasions.
At home, the Venoms have won two and lost the other of their three games so far in the competition.
For Al Hilal, they come into the game having lost only two of their last 11 games in the Champions League (W5 D4).
Away from home, they have won only three of their last 18 fixtures in the competition (D9 L6).
