Al Ahly and Wydad braced for tense CAF Champions League final

Ahly Cairo vs Wydad Casablanca - 30/05/2022

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The 2022 CAF Champions League final takes place in Casablanca on Monday night, with Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly facing off against Wydad AC of Morocco.

Al Ahly are the defending champions and record winners of this competition, having clinched a whopping ten titles over the years.

The Egyptians giants have reached four of the previous five CAF Champions League finals, losing in 2017 and 2018 before triumphing in 2020 and 2021.

As for Wydad, they have claimed two CAF Champions League crowns – most recently in 2017. They also reached the 2019 final but fell to Esperance de Tunis on that occasion.

This is destined to be an epic battle between two behemoths of African football. But who will come out on top? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.

Let’s start by examining Al Ahly, who have not had it all their own way this season. After finishing second in their group, they were pushed all the way by Raja Casablanca and ES Setif in the knockout phase.

Pitso Mosimane’s men have won five of their ten CAF Champions League games this season, registering three draws and two defeats along the way.

Thanks to some strong form in the Egyptian Premier League, however, Al Ahly head into the final on an eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

When you look at the bigger picture, Al Ahly have lost just one of their previous 12 outings – picking up six wins and five draws in the process.

On the flip side, Wydad won five of their six group games to book their spot the in CAF Champions League knockouts.

In the quarter-finals, they scraped past CR Belouizdad with a 1-0 aggregate win before dispatching Petro de Luanda 4-2 in the semi-finals to punch their ticket to the showpiece.

Remarkably, Wydad are currently enjoying a 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions – having sealed 12 wins and four draws since their last loss.

They also find themselves four points clear at the summit of the Moroccan top-flight after losing just three of their 24 league games so far this term.

Head-to-head: Al Ahly and Wydad have faced each other on ten occasions in the CAF Champions League since 2011, with Wydad winning just twice.

Al Ahly did the double over Wydad in 2020, winning 2-0 in Morocco before securing a 3-1 victory back on Egyptian soil. That means Al Ahly have won four of the previous seven meetings.

Team news: Al Ahly look set to be without the injured trio of Akram Tawfik, Amar Hamdy and Luis Miquissone for the final.

Meanwhile, Wydad will be missing Libyan winger Muaid Ellafi as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury.

The importance of this clash cannot be overstated. For that reason, both sides are expected to approach the final with caution – producing a tight and cagey affair.

With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Al Ahly and Wydad will play out a goalless draw in normal time. Extra-time will likely be need to decide the winner.

Home team
Away team

Probability %

1X2

Pred

Correct score

Avg. goals

Weather conditions

Coef.

Score

Live
coef.

CAF

Ahly Cairo Wydad Casablanca 30/05/2022 21:00

344422

X

0 - 0

1.92

35°

2.80

2.90 2.80 2.50 no no no

FT

0 - 2(0 - 1)

-

- - -