Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema is relishing the chance to play a starring role to help his side overcome CR Belouizdad in the Caf Champions League quarter-final second leg on Saturday.

The Tshwane giants returned to winning ways in the DStv Premiership after they edged out Richards Bay 1-0 thanks to a goal from Thapelo Morena at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Sundowns will now head into this clash with a huge advantage having won the first leg 4-1 thanks to a brace by Peter Shalulile and goals from Neo Maema and Cassius Mailula at the Baraki Stadium in Baraki.

Maema, who scored in the first leg, is expecting a tough game against the Algerian outfit despite playing at home in the second leg.

“It’s going to be a difficult encounter because CR Belouizdad is a good team. They wouldn’t have made it to the quarter-finals if they weren’t a great side. We are looking forward to the game and playing at home. We hope to come out with an impressive result,” Maema told his club’s official website.

“When we played it Algeria, we knew it was us against the twenty-four thousand fans, but we stuck together.

“These are the types of games you look forward to as a football player to build your character and help you with consistency in the performances you deliver for the team”, said Maema as he expressed the significance of playing in the Champions League.

It’s going to be a new day and a new game. We are looking forward to it as a team and we will make sure that we do our end of the bargain. Our supporters are going to play a big part on Saturday and would like to encourage them to come in numbers.”

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