TotalEnergies CAF Champions’ League Group Stage kicks off on Tuesday (Nov. 26).
CAF Champions Leagues kicks off, ES Tunis - Djoliba AC to clash in opener
Emirates's Al Ain Ahmed Barman, left, heads the ball past Tunisia's ES Tunis Mohamed Meskini at the Hazza Bin Zayed stadium in Al Ain, UAE on Dec. 15, 2018.
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ES Tunis start their campaign by hosting Malian outfit Djoliba AC in Group D.
Speaking during a presser on Monday (Nov. 25), the newly appointed coach of ES Tunis, cleared the air about the squad's readiness.
"I think all the players are ready for the game tomorrow and I think they (media) didn't understand what I said before the last game," Laurențiu Reghecampf said.
"I just said that I didn't have the players. I didn't have enough time to prepare the team with all the players because many players were with the national team. And I didn't have too much time to train them all together."
Espérance de Tunis will be looking for a fresh start after their defeat in last season's CAF Champions League final.
ES Tunis sit sixth in their domestic league table and are unbeaten in their last four games.
Malian champions Djoliba AC are unbeaten since last May in all competitions. They are also the first team from their country to reach this level of the competition. The pressure is on them.
‘"At this level of competition, we have to be in a good physical condition, and then we have to adapt to our opponent's tactical evolutions. In this high level of football, we need all these things to happen," coach Mbemba Traore said.
In top-level sport, you have to be tactical, physical and always know how to adapt to changes in the game."
ES Tunis v Djoliba AC kicks off at 8 PM UTC +1 at the Olympique Hammadi Agrebi stadium in Rades, Tunisia.
16 teams qualified to play this year's CAF Champions League.
The two teams leading each group will secure their spots in the quaterfinals that will be played from January 17 to 19.