Wydad, a team standing between Sundowns and the African throne.

Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Wydad AC on Saturday 13 May at the Stade Mohammed V in highly anticipated CAF Champions League semi-final 1st leg.

The two sides have met five times before in the competition, with the reigning African champions, Wydad, winning twice, two draws, and a single Sundowns win.

Both Wydad wins were achieved in their home turf, and Sundowns will be hoping to turn things around on Saturday, and beat their Moroccan counterparts at home to increase their chances of reaching the final.

But there is more to this titanic battle than just Sundowns hoping to reach the final.

The Brazilians have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are a competitive side on the continent, a real force to be reckoned with.

But since winning the title under Pitso Mosimane in 2016, Sundowns have not done in enough to convince Africa that they are ready to sit on the throne once again. The Wydad clash is a test they have to pass to make Africa believe again.

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And beating Wydad is possible, as Simba demonstrated in the quarter-finals, where the African Champions needed penalties to advance to the semi-finals after losing 1-0 away and winning with the same scoreline at home.

In the second leg, Simba had to be strong defensively to stomach intense offensive play from Wydad.

Despite eventually conceding a goal, they managed to limit Wydad to just three shots on targets, from 12 goal attempts that came from a staggering 66% ball possession.

Going into Saturday's encounter, Sundowns will have to walk along Simba's lines, and be resolute in defence.

But they need to take it a step further, by threatening the Wydad defence, something that Simba failed to do, having not registered a shot on target from six attempts.

Fortunately for Sundowns, attack is their biggest strength, and they are highly capable of going to Morocco and score a goal or two, maybe even three!

But one thing for sure, this is one game that Sundowns must win to prove their readiness to sit on the throne of African club football.