Sundowns aim to avoid Lupopo upset in CAF Champions League opener

Mamelodi Sundowns start their quest to return to the CAF Champions League final for a second successive year, beginning their campaign against Saint-Éloi Lupopo at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA,GMT+2).

CURRENT FORM

As South African league champions, Mamelodi Sundowns did not have to compete in the first preliminary round of qualifying for the tournament, but met Remo Stars of Nigeria in the second preliminary round.

Sundowns showed their class against the Nigeria league winners, earning a 5-1 win away from home before a 2-0 victory at home in the second leg of the tie.

The Brazilians are top of the Betway Premiership table with 25 points, having managed seven wins, four draws and one loss.

Having fallen agonisingly short of claiming the continental crown last season, Masandawana will be looking to remind the continent of their pedigree in the campaign to come and claim the coveted trophy.

Preparing with purpose. Eyes on the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL group stages. 🔥#Sundowns #AreyengMasandawana pic.twitter.com/49NUVCYFRN — Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) November 19, 2025

Saint-Éloi Lupopo reached the group stage of the CAF Champions League by fighting their way through two rounds of qualifying.

The Congolese club faced Al-Merreikh of Sudan in the first preliminary round, scoring at home in the first leg to claim a 1-0 win before playing out a goalless draw in the second leg to advance.

Lupopo then faced Orlando Pirates in the second preliminary and stunned the continent, defeating last year’s semifinalists 3-0 at home in the first leg of the tie.

They struggled in the return leg, as Pirates scored three goals in Soweto to pull level on aggregate.

However, Lupopo managed a 5-4 win on penalties to reach the group stage.

Domestically, Saint-Éloi Lupopo are undefeated and sit second on the Linafoot table, having recorded three wins to start the 2025/26 season before stalling with two draws.

Despite reaching the second round of the Champions League in 2003 and 2006, the club have not participated in the coveted tournament since 2010 and will be intent on reminding the continent of their ability.

A perfect set-up in Group C. Who’s topping the group? 😮‍💨 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/pJXFw6IQMk — TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) November 18, 2025

WHAT WAS SAID

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana stated the Brazilians are hungry for Champions League success, having come so close previously, and are learning from their past mistakes.

“I think the desire is still there, the hunger is still there. As a team, I think it's the one trophy that we so much want, especially this group, considering how well we've done in the league and I think the Champions League is what's short in this group,” said Kekana.

“So I think going into this season, we'll obviously analyse the mistakes and how we fell short so that if we do reach that stage we're able to do better than we did in the previous seasons.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mamelodi Sundowns: Iqraam Rayners returned to the field against Pirates ahead of the international break after being sidelined.

With six league goals in the season already, the deadly striker will look to stamp his mark on the continental competition yet again.

Saint-Éloi Lupopo: Mokonzi Katumbwe was a member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign in August.

The centre-back will have his hands full with a deadly Sundowns front line, but could be the difference maker, as he was for Lupopo in the first preliminary round.