Competition: Caf Champions League – Round of 32

Match: Asante Kotoko v MC El Eulma

Venue: Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi

Kickoff: 5pm CAT on April 5

Ghanaian champions Asante Kotoko have their destiny in their hands as they welcome Algeria’s MC El Eulma in Kumasi on Sunday.

The big encounter, being the second leg tie of the 2015 Caf Champions League round of 32, is the 12th time the porcupine warriors will be facing an Algerian side in Africa inter-club competitions over the last 25 years.

To further break it down, MC El Eulma are the fourth Algerian side to play against Kotoko in Africa in six separate occasions – JS Kabilye (JSK) have faced the Ghanaian champions the most during these times – thrice over two legs.

Interestingly, Kotoko are yet to eliminate an Algerian side over two legs in the African competitions since facing JSK in 1990. The most recent is the 2013 debacle when the coach Mas-Ud Dramani-led Kotoko side impressively drew goalless in the first leg away fixture but bottled the chance to win at home and got eliminated from the Champions League after a 1-1 score in Kumasi.

Kotoko form against Algerian sides

1990

Kotoko 1-0 JSK – First Leg

JSK 2-0 Kotoko – 2nd Leg

2004

USMA 2-0 Kotoko – First Leg

Kotoko 2-0 USMA (Kotoko were eliminated after PKs) – 2nd Leg

2006

JSK 1-0 Kotoko – First Leg

Kotoko 2-1 JSK – 2nd Leg

2008

Kotoko 3-1 JSK – First Leg

JSK 2-0 Kotoko – 2nd Leg

NB: This was at the group stage of the 2008 Caf Confederation Cup

2013

JSM Bejaia 0-0 Kotoko

Kotoko 1-1 JSM Bejaia

Asante Kotoko, this season, began their Caf Champions League campaign with a walkover after Sierra Leonean champions, East End Lions, withdrew from the competition.

Their opponents, El Eulma, managed to dump St. Georges of Ethiopia over two legs to set up this round of 32 clash.

A tale of two new coaches

David Duncan

Kotoko, who had a poor beginning in the Ghana domestic league travelled to draw 0-0 at the Stade Messaoud Zougar in the first leg on March 14 – a game which marked the beginning of an era with new coach David Duncan.

He has since the first leg encounter guided the porcupine warriors to a turnaround in fortunes in their domestic campaign – won all three competitive games. His arrival in Kumasi has brought about a revived verve within the rank and file of the club and the porcupine lads, looking to have found their confidence back again are expected to go all gun blazing in the Sunday afternoon encounter.

Head coach David Duncan says his technical team is working to ensure two-time African win to progress.

“We're doing everything possible to ensure that we progress,” the 51-year-old said.

“We will be balanced in our approach. Our primary objective is to keep a clean sheet and attack as much as we can to score and also not concede.”

“We have a high pedigree in African football and hope to use this as a psychological advantage to overcome our opponents. The technical team is working on the psyche of the players to get them in the right shape of mind to give us the desired results,” Duncan furthered.

Jules Accorsi

The 77-year-old French tactician is back to continue from where he left after guiding El Eulma to their Champions League feat at the end of last season.

Accorsi despite helping the club place 4th in the Algerian League last season was replaced with Denis Goavec at the beginning of this season’s campaign. But his successor did not last long due to a poor start to the season and was also booted out for the recently sacked Azzedine Ait Djoudi.

Ait Djoudi was shown the exit days after Asante Kotoko secured a 0-0 result in the first leg of this tie in Algeria.

Sunday’s game against Kotoko will be Accorsi’s first game since making a return to El Eulma but the ex-French Professional footballer has some rich experience on the continent.

He has worked with 18 different clubs since beginning his coaching career as an assistant at SEC Bastia in 1970. Accorsi worked with Ajaccio and other French clubs before switching continents in 1989 to clubs in Morocco, Tunisia, Vietnam, Oman, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Benin and recently, Algeria.

Accorsi’s first stint with MC El Eulma lasted five months – from February to June 2014.

Domestic Form guide

Kotoko: D D D W W

The porcupine warriors have been on some resurgence from a side that was lying 13th on the Ghana league table to 5th position with 19 points after 12 games.

MC El Eulma ( Seen training in Kumasi below) W L W L L

El Eulma are languishing 15th on the 16-team Algerian Ligue 1 table with 27 points from 23 games.

Possible Line-ups

Kotoko: Ofori Antwi – Atta Kusi, Amos Frimpong, Abeiku Ainooson, Eric Donkor - Owusu Jackson, Michael Akuffo – Richard Mpong, Emmanuel Asante, Obed Owusu, Ahmed Toure

El Eulma: Mohamed Ousserir - Nassim Oussalah, Adel Maiza, Tarek Zeghidi - Nacer Hammami, Ibrahim Chenihi, Mokhtar Belkhiter, Azougha Tembeng - Walid Derrardja, Fares Hemitti, Abelmalek Abbes

Permutations

With a 0-0 first leg result, a win for either side simple qualifies them to the 1/8th stage of the Champions League but a score draw will see MC El Eulma advance at the expense of Asante Kotoko.

A goalless draw after 90 minutes will have the tie determined by penalty shootout.

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