The French tactician discusses how the Msimbazi giants must be ready when they face the Red Devils in Khartoum
Simba SC coach Didier Gomez Da Rosa has warned his players to prepare for a real fight when they face Al Merrikh in their Caf Champions League fixture on Saturday.
The Msimbazi giants are scheduled to depart for Khartoum on Tuesday ahead of their Group A clash set for Al Hilal Stadium with Da Rosa cautioning his players not to underrate their opponents, who have lost two matches already.
Al Merrikh started their campaign in the group with a 3-0 defeat against Egyptian giants Al Ahly in Cairo before they suffered a 4-1 defeat at home against AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On the other hand, Simba started positively with a 1-0 away win against AS Vita before earning a 1-0 victory against Al Ahly at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam to move top of the group with maximum points.
However, the French tactician has openly claimed Al Merrikh will provide them with a tough fixture because they will not be ready to lose a third consecutive match.
“They have already lost twice and the last time it was at home but I know these players and the team very well, they are very dangerous at home and they have a squad of proud players who cannot allow losing three matches in a row in the competition,” Da Rosa told Goal on Monday.
“Al Merrikh is one of the biggest clubs in Africa and so we must be very serious, ready, and convinced that we have the quality, the ability, and the discipline to get a very good result there.
“But to be honest, it will be a very big fight because like I said Al Merrikh cannot accept to lose three times consecutively so we must be ready but you know what we have already done against Al Ahly and if we are able to play like we did [against Al Ahly] in Sudan, we have some clear hopes to win.”
Ahead of the match, Simba have received a major boost with doctors clearing goalkeeper Aishi Manula to travel with the team after he picked an injury during their Mainland Premier League match against JKT Tanzania on Monday.
Another player who will return for Simba is striker John Bocco, who scored against JKT Tanzania.
Bocco suffered an injury while featuring for the Tanzania national team at the African Nations Championship held in Cameroon and is yet to play for the side since then.