Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena insists they will have to be at their best when they take on Al-Merrikh in their second Caf Champions League Group A clash at the Al Salam Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Brazilians will be looking to secure back to back wins in the Champions League following their narrow 1-0 win over Al-Hilal at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium last Friday thanks to Themba Zwane’s eighth minute winner.

Sundowns will be hoping to bounce back from their recent performance in the DStv Premiership when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Baroka FC at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Monday evening.

Although Sundowns are favourites to beat Al-Merrikh, Mokwena is well aware of the threat they possess and what challenges lie ahead for the Brazilians.

“Both teams are very experienced in this space because we are consistent participants in the group stages of the Champions League. At Sundowns, it doesn’t make any difference whether you are at home or away,” Mokwena told SuperSport TV.

“What is important for us is that we must bring out our best performance and once we can do that we know we can deal with a lot of things on the pitch.

“The Sudanese league has had a lot of disruptions because of political events in the country and the safety of the teams is difficult to guarantee.

“That moved their venue to Egypt and that made it difficult to get updated match footage from them. The good thing is that not a lot has changed and we have gone back to the last four games.”

Mamelodi Sundowns against Al-Merrikh is scheduled to kick off at 3pm on Saturday.