Sundowns, Rivers United face CAF Champions League crunch this weekend

by Devesh Jaganath

image Sundowns, Rivers United face CAF Champions League crunch this weekend
The 2025-26 CAF Champions League enters Matchday 5 this weekend, and there are several key fixtures on the card, with the qualification scenarios now becoming clearer. Mamelodi Sundowns face a must-win trip to the DRC, while Rivers' campaign will come to an end this weekend.
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Masandawana under pressure ahead of Matchday 5 clash

Mamelodi Sundowns, runners-up in last season’s CAF Champions League, are in a tough spot heading into Matchday 5. They travel to Congo to face St. Eloi Lupopo on Sunday, and you can find all the key insights for this match in our CAF Champions League predictions. 

Masandawa have faced criticism for their performances both domestically and in continental competition this season, as they are in second place in both the South African PSL after 15 games and in their CAFCL group ahead of their penultimate fixture before the knockouts. 

Miguel Cardoso’s side picked up a less-than-convincing victory over Gomora in the Nedbank Cup in midweek, just four days after suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Sudanese outfit Al-Hilal Omdurman on MD4 of the CAFCL.

The Brazilians have won only five of their last 10 matches in all competitions. In the Champions League, they are on five points after four games (W1 D2 L1), three points behind the group leaders Al-Hilal and just one point above MC Alger and Lupopo in third and fourth, respectively. 

If the PSL champions lose this match and MC Alger pull off a victory at home against the Blue Waves, Sundowns will drop to the bottom of the group, two points behind the teams above them heading into their final match of the round-robin on February 14. 

Pride at stake for Rivers over final two rounds of CAFCL

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After four rounds of matches in the group stage of the competition, only one team has already been eliminated from qualification contention - Nigeria’s sole representative in the CAF Champions League, Rivers United. 

The NPFL outfit’s fate was sealed last week when they suffered a 1-0 loss to Power Dynamos at home. Prior to that, they were beaten by Pyramids (3-0) and RS Berkane (2-1), while their only point in the competition came via a goalless draw against Dynamos on MD3. 

Thus, even if they win their remaining two games in the group, they will still be unable to secure a top-two finish, meaning the rest of their matches will be played as a formality. They face Pyramids this weekend before travelling to Stade Municipal de Berkane on MD6.

The one positive for Finidi George’s side, though, is that they have been much better domestically, currently leading the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) standings by one point, but they do have three games in hand on the sides below them.