CAF Champions League: Esperance sportive de Tunis begin campaign against Al-Swehly SC

Esperance sportive de Tunis begin their 2026-2027 CAF Champions League campaign on Sunday, 18 October, with a trip to Libya to face Al-Swehly SC in the first leg of the second preliminary round.

Kick-off is scheduled for 17:00 GMT, which is 18:00 in both Tunisia and Libya, at Misrata Stadium. Esperance will be seeking a positive result to take into the return match, which will be played in Rades on 24 October.

The Tunisian club were exempt from the first preliminary round and enter the competition aiming to maintain their established presence among Africa’s leading sides. They are targeting another place in the group stage, having qualified for that phase in every season since 2016-2017.

A strong away performance would give the Sang et Or a better platform for the second leg on home soil. However, they will also need to balance the desire to gain an advantage with the importance of avoiding a damaging result before the return fixture.

Al-Swehly SC will look to use home advantage to unsettle their more experienced opponents. The Libyan club are taking part in the CAF Champions League for the first time and will hope to make an impression against a side accustomed to high-profile African matches.

For the hosts, managing the key periods of the game and coping with the pressure applied by Esperance will be central to their hopes of taking a lead into the second leg.

Esperance will be without full-back Mohamed Ben Ali, who is expected to miss the match because of a muscular injury.