Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango says his side can expect a tough battle against Rayon Sports in the CAF Champions League on Wednesday.

The Brazilians jetted off to Kigali straight after claiming a 3-1 victory over AmaZulu at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Friday.

Onyango wants his side to continue their winning mentality and remain focused on advancing to the group stages of the competition.

‘It’s good for the players to focus on the game and acclimatise to the weather because since it’s summer in South Africa, it’s the opposite here,’ Onyango told his club’s official website.

‘It’s been raining almost every day. It was good for us to come early so that we have peace of mind, stay away from the distractions and focus on the game. It was a good decision by the technical team.

‘So far everything is going well in Rwanda. It’s a very chilled country, very clean. They welcomed us very well. We are focusing on the game because we know how hard it will be, especially since this is the last round before the group stage. We’ve experienced this before.

‘We saw how tough it was to beat KCCA [Kampala Capital City Authority] to reach the group stage last year. It never gets easy. We will do our best to get into the group stage. Everyone is still focused, and we want to keep the winning momentum because there are a few games remaining in the league. This will push us towards the end of the season.’

Sundowns had the opportunity to watch Rayon play on Sunday in the Rwandan League, and did extensive video analysis on them ahead of their first leg of the first round in the African competition.

‘They are a very good team going forward,’ he added.

‘They have a lot of big boys. They’ve got foreigners from Cameroon and Burundi. It’s a team that looks to play good football from the back. We respect that, but at the same time we are good going forward and defending.

‘We’ll do our best not to concede. In the Champions League, it’s very important not to concede, and it’s important to score away because it gives you an edge.’

Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Rayon Sports in their CAF Champions League clash at the Stade Amahoro on Wednesday, with kick-off set for 19:00.