Orange Champions League

Saturday (1st leg)

APR  vs  TP Mazembe

REIGNING African champions TP Mazembe jet in this afternoon, two days before their much anticipated Orange Champions league clash with Rwandan giants APR.

The Congolese giants’ chartered plane is expected to touch down at Kigali International Airport at 1pm after which, the team is expected to be transported to Top Tower hotel in Kacyiru.

On paper, everything is against APR but sources close to the military side indicate that the side has tried to work on their defensive errors during this week’s training sessions at Amahoro stadium, the venue for Saturday’s tie.

"They have been working so hard on their defensive play so hopefully, they can carry this display into Saturday’s game,” the source said.

While Mazembe had a bye to the second round, APR qualified the hard way after ejecting Angola’s Recreativo do Libolo on goal aggregates (3-2).

After playing out to a 2-all draw in the first leg in Kigali, APR rose to the occasion in Angola sinking Recreativo with an away 1-0 win.

In a bid to defend their African crown, TP Mazembe unveiled a 10 million dollar budget for the 2010 season.

The DRC side has since signed various players to strengthen their side. One of the players is midfielder Stoppila Sunzu who has recently come under the spotlight over his move from Zambia’s Zanaco.

According to reports from Zanaco, Sunzu who signed a two-year contract in February, 2009 is still their player. The midfielder joined Zanaco after seeing out his contract at Chateauroux of France.

After featuring for Zambia in the 2010 Africa Nations Cup in Angola, Zanaco claim that Sunzu joined Mazembe under unclear circumstances because the club insists that the player’s ITC was processed without their consent.

Zanaco has since requested for clarification on the matter but Zambia’s Football Association has been reluctant to respond.

Ends