With Esperance de Tunis poised to take on Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League, the Tunisian giants' head coach Miguel Cardoso has insisted he is optimistic of his team's chances ahead of the encounter.
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On 19 April, the two African giants from opposite ends of the continent are set to renew their rivalry as they look to book their place in the final of the tournament.
Masandawana got the better of Young Africans in their quarter-final clash, while the Blood and Gold had to navigate their way past Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, and the four-time competition winners are now set for a seventh and eighth match-up against the juggernauts of South African football.
While Esperance may be serial contenders for Champions League honours, their west African counterparts made them work for their progression to the semis as they ended up winning 4-2 on penalties after both legs ended goalless.
However, with Downs likely to provide an even stiffer test in the coming weeks, Esperance boss Cardoso has stated that he is upbeat about his charges' capabilities of achieving a positive result against the DStv Premiership champions.
"The work continues to be ready in two weeks against Sundowns," the 51-year-old Portuguese tactician told reporters, as per the club's official website.
"It will be a different story, but we are confident in our abilities."
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This will be the first time the two teams meet in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with their previous six encounters all coming during the group stage of the showpiece.
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