Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, and Kaizer Chiefs are all in African club competition action this weekend, along with Durban City, who are playing their debut campaign.
Sundowns are away at Wiliete from Angola in the Champions League on Sunday, while Pirates travel to African Stars of Namibia a day earlier in the same competition.
Chiefs face a daunting trip to Zambia to meet Red Arrows in the Confederation Cup on Saturday, while Durban City host ASPL 2000 from Mauritius a day later.
Ahead of those games, we look at the records of Sundowns, Chiefs, and Pirates against teams from their opponents’ countries in African club competitions down the years, and it has not been all fun and games.
As they are making their debut, Durban City have no record against Mauritian opposition.
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS VS WILIETE (ANGOLA)
Sundowns will be expected to ease past Wiliete from Angola, but they will be wary of past failures against clubs from the southern African nation.
Wiliete will be the third side from Angola that Sundowns have faced in African club competition, after Petro Atletico and Primeiro de Agosto.
Petro in particular have been a thorny opponent after they dumped Sundowns out at the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League in the 2021/22 season, winning 2-1 at home and drawing 1-1 in South Africa.
Sundowns have played 10 matches against Angolan clubs across all CAF competitions, winning four, drawing three and losing three.
The Brazilians have never lost at home to an Angolan club in continental competition, with three wins and two draws, but their away record is considerably less impressive, with just one win, one draw and three defeats.
Their first meetings with Angolan opposition came in the 2001 Champions League semifinals against Petro Atletico. Sundowns won 2-0 at home, lost 2-0 away and advanced to the final with a 5-3 penalty shootout victory.
Two years later, in the now-defunct CAF Cup, Sundowns again needed penalties to eliminate an Angolan club. They lost 2-0 away to Primeiro de Agosto, won the return leg 2-0 and prevailed 9-8 in the shootout.
Sundowns enjoyed their most successful Champions League meetings against Petro Atletico in the 2019/20 group stage, winning 3-0 at home before drawing 2-2 in Angola.
The most recent meetings with an Angolan club came in the inaugural African Football League in 2023, when Sundowns defeated Petro Atletico 2-0 away and drew 0-0 at home in the quarterfinals.
ORLANDO PIRATES VS AFRICAN STARS (NAMIBIA)
Pirates’ history against Namibian opponents is far more cut and dried, though they were also made to sweat last time out.
We are still waiting for the day they get to face their namesakes, Orlando Pirates of Windhoek, in a CAF competition, which will give everyone a headache trying to work out who is home and away on the fixture list!
The Buccaneers meet African Stars this time round, the same opponents they faced in their only previous tie against Namibian opposition.
That was in the second round of the CAF Champions League in 2018/19, and Pirates squeezed through.
They were held to a 0-0 draw in Soweto in the first leg and then claimed a narrow 1-0 away win in Windhoek to take the tie.
You would think it will be a little more emphatic this time round.
KAIZER CHIEFS VS RED ARROWS (ZAMBIA)
Chiefs have faced two Zambian clubs before in African club competition, in the form of Nchanga Rangers and ZESCO United, but it has not gone all that well.
Their record against Zambian opposition is six matches, two wins, one draw, and three defeats, with four goals scored and seven conceded.
All six previous matches have come in the CAF Cup or CAF Confederation Cup, and we go again in the latter against Arrows.
Their first encounters came in the old CAF Cup in 2000, when they lost 2-0 at home to Nchanga Rangers in the second round and drew the return fixture 0-0 away.
It was almost two decades before they faced another Zambian club, drawing ZESCO United in the third round of the 2018/19 Confederation Cup.
Chiefs lost both matches against ZESCO, going down 3-1 away and 2-1 at home to suffer a 5-2 aggregate defeat.
They have had better luck more recently. They clashed with ZESCO in the Confederation Cup last season and won 1-0 in Zambia before repeating the result at home.
It will be tough again this year, with Red Arrows a very accomplished side.