New-look Vita Club need win at all costs against Raja

Raja Club Athletic player (R) in action against AS Vita Club player Chadrack Muzungu Lukombe (L)

Friday Dec 06, 2019. 10:00

AS Vita Club will host Raja Casablanca in their CAF Champions League Group D clash in Kinshasa on Friday as both sides seek to break their duck following opening day defeats.

While Raja may view a point as acceptable from this clash, Vita Club will be desperate for the win, know that to drop points at home in this pool will make quarterfinal qualification very difficult.

Raja lost 2-0 at home to Champions League holders Esperance on match day one, while Vita Club went down 1-0 at Algerian side JS Kabylie.

Vita Club are going through a rebuilding phase under long-serving coach Florent Ibenge, and recently sold their star man Fabrice Ngoma to Raja, in what will be an emotional return for him.

“For us, we should just score one goal more than Raja,” Ibenge told reporters..

“Our best player of the past year, Fabrice Ngoma is now in the rank of Raja. It is not only him, there is also Ben Malango, the best scorer of the Congolese championship. They are experienced players.

“But, anyway, there will be 11 against 11 on the field. We will try to fight, we will play not only against Raja, but also against Fabrice Ngoma.”

The teams have met four times before in the last 18 months, all in the CAF Confederation Cup, with Vita Club winning both home matches 2-0 and 3-1, though almost 90 percent of those sides are gone such has been the squad overhaul.

Raja won 3-0 in Casablanca in November 2018, while they also played to a 0-0 draw in Morocco in May last year.

Experienced Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe will be the man in the middle at the Stade des Martyrs.

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