Sinan Rajub SENOGA
Ugandan champions Vipers SC take on Guinea giants Horoya Athletic Club in the second round of this season’s CAF Champions League group stages at Kitende.
The Venoms seek redemption after miserably falling 5-0 to Raja Casablanca in Morocco in the first game last week.
The onus is upon Vipers to make the home advantage count against a visiting Horoya AC if they are to pick anything positive from their debut campaign.
๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐!!! #TotalEnergiesCAFCL
โฝ | Match No.98
๐ | CAF Champions League
๐ | Vipers SC v Horoya AC
๐ | Saturday, 18/02/2023
โ | 4:00PM
๐ | St Mary's Stadium, Kitende
๐บ | Live on Sanyuka TV/Supersport #VIPHAC | #VenomsUpdates | #OneTeamOneDream pic.twitter.com/DRbsCouNVR
— ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ (@VipersSC) February 18, 2023
Horoya beat Simba 1-0 in the first round game in Conakry courtesy of Pape Abdou Ndiaye who also missed a penalty later in the game.
For Vipers, new coach Beto Bianchi Pelliser aims to get off the mark having struggled to win in his first three competitive games as the new man in the dug out.
They come into this fixture after edging FUFA Big League side Jinja North United on penalties in the Stanbic Uganda Cup round of 32 on Wednesday.
He has expressed optimism saying his charges managed to get over the 5-0 mauling in Casablanca.
โWe should quickly forget the first match against Raja Casablanca, and must now focus on what lies ahead of us,โ Bianchi said via the Vipers media.
โIt doesnโt help us to keep thinking of what has already happened, because we still have five games to play in the group stages, so the focus should be on getting the best results possible,โ he added.
โWe have worked well, I have seen better reaction from the players during training, the intensity is good and am confident that our preparations give us an advantage against Horoya Athletic Club,โ
Team News:
Vipers will only miss Abdul Lumala who picked a knock in Casablanca but has returned to training as well as Marvin Youngman who is out injured.
The Venoms will be looking up to Yunus Sentamu, skipper Milton Karisa and Martin Kizza as their source of inspiration upfront.
Horoya named a large contingent from Guinea since they will travel to Morocco for their round three match after the Vipers encounter.
However they continue to miss their star man Yakhouba Gnagna Barry who is serving a four month suspension from FIFA for his failed transfer to France.
The Guinea record champions will be heavily relying on their highly rated goalkeeper Moussa Camara as well as Mory Kante and Ocansey Mandela as some of the regular players who have played an integral part in the club’s continental adventures in the recent past years.
CAF Champions League Fixtures
Saturday
โข Vipers SC vs Horoya AC
โข Simba SC vs Raja Casablanca
โข Al Hilal vs Al Ahly
โข AS Vita Club vs Petro de Luanda
โข CR Belouizdad vs Esperance
