 |
| TP Mazembe. |
This is 5th trophy Mazembe won in this league.
EARLIER ARTICLE BEFORE THE MATCH
For the second year running, clubs from Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo will contest the CAF Champions League final and curiously, neither country is fielding the same team as they did in 2014. Last year, ES Setif and AS Vita made it to the final; this year, USM Alger and TP Mazembe will tussle over the title, which Mazembe are hot favourites to win.The Congolese club is packed with superstars including Zambian midfielder Rainford Kalaba and Tanzanian striker Mbwana Samatta, who is joint-second leading scorer for the tournament. Samatta has scored six times so far and needs just two more goals to take the golden boot. By comparison, USM's best performer, Youcef Belaili, is two goals behind and will not get the chance to catch up. Belaili was banned for two years after failing a post-match drug test during the group stage. Just on those two players, the distinction between the two teams can be drawn.USM do not have big names but showed character in reaching this final without any star performers. They will certainly be depending on home ground advantage to take an early lead. On the way to the final, they won six consecutive qualifying and group games at home and scored 14 goals before a goalless draw in the semifinal second leg. The Algerians can't afford that kind of lethargy against TP Mazembe, who have lifted the Champions League cup four times before and are gunning to join Zamalek with five trophies as the second-most successful club on the continent.
