CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: USM ALGER EYE TOP SPOT AS THEY HOST ES SÉTIF
With a place in the semi-finals already secured, USM Alger welcome ES Sétif this Friday at the Omar Hamadi Stadium in Bologhine for Matchday 5 of the CAF Champions League group stage. Unbeaten in their first four outings, the Red and Black aim to extend their dominance and seal top spot in Group B.
While their qualification is no longer in question, USMA are not treating the fixture as a formality. Midfielder Kaddour Beldjilali, still smarting from a 2-1 defeat to NA Hussein Dey in the opening round of the Algerian domestic league, stressed the team’s desire to return to winning ways.
“We hope to restart our winning streak, interrupted by the loss to NAHD,” said Beldjilali. “It affected us because we wanted to start the league strong. Now, we are focused on bouncing back against Sétif. Finishing first in the group matters a lot to us.”
A win would guarantee USM Alger top spot ahead of their final group game away to Al-Merrikh in Sudan. Despite already being through, the Algiers side is determined to maintain momentum as they head toward the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, for ES Sétif, the stakes could not be higher. The defending African champions must win to keep alive their slim hopes of advancing. The match promises to be a tense all-Algerian affair, with both sides having different but equally compelling motivations.
