Raja Casablanca host El Kanemi Warriors in CAF Confederation Cup second-leg decider

Raja Casablanca welcome El Kanemi Warriors to the Stade Mohammed V on Friday for the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round tie.

Kick-off in Casablanca is scheduled for 22:00 French time (20:00 in Morocco), five days after the teams drew 2-2 in the first leg at Ikenne, Nigeria.

No broadcaster had been confirmed in France when this article was published. In Morocco, coverage had also not been officially announced by either beIN Sports Mena or Arryadia. The match could instead be streamed on Raja Casablanca’s official Facebook page, as happened for the first leg.

Raja hold the advantage after scoring twice away from home in Nigeria. They will progress to the group stage with a win, or with a 0-0 or 1-1 draw.

The hosts fell behind in the 24th minute when El Kanemi Warriors, also known as the Desert Warriors, opened the scoring. Mohammad Abu Zrayq then levelled for Raja before Mathias Oyewusi Kehinde put the Moroccan side in front shortly after half-time.

However, El Kanemi Warriors equalised in the 82nd minute to leave the tie finely balanced ahead of the return fixture.

Raja will be without Zidani, who was sent off in the first leg and is suspended for Friday’s game. Adam Ennaffati and Ayoub El Amloud are available again after recovering from injury, while Ismail Mokadem returns from suspension.

The Moroccan club have an impressive home record against Nigerian opposition in African club competitions. They have not lost at home to a Nigerian side since 1999, winning three of their four previous meetings and drawing the other.

That sequence began with a 1-0 victory over Shooting Stars in the CAF Champions League in September 1999. Raja then defeated Enyimba 1-0 in July 2005 in the same competition and beat them 2-1 in the CAF Confederation Cup in October 2018.

The only occasion on which Raja failed to win was a goalless draw with Enyimba in the CAF Champions League in August 2011.

Those results will offer Raja confidence as they seek to complete the job in Casablanca, but El Kanemi Warriors remain within one goal of overturning the tie and reaching the next stage.