Mamelodi Sundowns' CAF Champions League semi-final opponents, Esperance de Tunis, will reportedly hold training behind closed doors in order to prepare for the first leg later this week.
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On Saturday, the Tunisian giants will meet Masandawana for the first time ever in the knockout stages of Africa's premier club competition.
Ordinarily, there would be a lot riding on the match as a place in the tournament's final is up for grabs, but the stakes have been raised further as both teams are vying for a spot at next year's FIFA Club World Cup.
It seems the Blood and Gold have acknowledged the importance of the match and want to have as much of a competitive advantage as possible as they, according to WinWin, will not be allowing any outside personnel into their camp closer to the match, and will be holding their training sessions in preparation for the encounter behind closed doors.
The north African giants have lost only once in this season's edition of the Champions League, and having won two of the six clashes they have already played against Ka Bo Yellow since they first met in 2000, they will likely be quietly confident going into the match at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi this weekend.
The stadium will, however, not be filled to capacity as the same report claims that only 30 000 fans will be allowed into the 60 000-seater arena.
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CAF are said to have appointed Senegalese referee Issa Sy to officiate the first leg in the Tunisian capital of Rades. The 39-year-old oversaw Esperance's only loss of the competition this season, a 3-1 defeat to Al Hilal during the group stage.
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