Wydad Casablanca are on a 13-game unbeaten streak heading into their Caf Champions League semifinal first leg against Kaizer Chiefs, but Amakhosi duo Arthur Zwane and Daniel Cardoso are not phased by the quality of their opponents.
Wydad and the Glamour Boys meet at the Stade Mohammed V on Saturday at 9pm where both teams will be hoping to put one foot in the final with a big performance.
Chiefs have not played a game since concluding the league two weeks ago while the Moroccan giants head into the match with a momentum after going 13 games unbeaten in all competitions with their last defeat dating back to April 26.
They have won eight and drawn five matches over this run and are sitting at the top of the Botola Pro log.
The form of Wydad, though, is of no concern to Cardoso and Zwane who have both insisted that Chiefs can compete with any side.
“The opponents are a very competitive team. We are aware of that. But they also have their weaknesses and strengths and we will try to focus on their weaknesses,” Zwane told the club’s media department.
“We will try to control their strength because we know that they are very good at playing the balls behind. If you create that space for them, they can easily punish you.”
The sides met in the group stages, with Wydad winning their home leg, which was played in Burkina Faso, 4-0, while Chiefs got their revenge at FNB Stadium.
Defender Cardoso said they won’t make it easy for Wydad in both matches.
“It is a bit of a challenge but we know them, we have been studying them and we have been watching their games,” Cardoso said. “They showed their class when we played them away and we managed to beat them at home, and we are going into this game with a good and fresh mind.”