Simba SC will look to continue their remarkable run in the CAF Champions League when they host TP Mazembe in the first leg of a quarterfinal tie, set for the National Stadium in Dar Es Salaam on Saturday, 6 April 2019.

The Tanzanian side claimed a 2-1 win over DR Congo’s AS Vita – courtesy of goals from Mohamed Husseini and Cletous Chama – in their final Group D match midway through last month.

This saw ‘Wekundu wa Msimbazi’ move into second place on the standings behind Egyptian giants Al Ahly and join them in advancing into the quarterfinals.

“It is not historical for me but for the club Simba, for Tanzania and even for East Africa. It is something great. Now we can talk about football in East Africa thanks to Simba,” said coach Patrick Aussems, who will be hoping his team can rise to an even greater challenge this weekend.

TP Mazembe, five-time African champions, topped Group C with relative comfort and wrapped up their pool phase by defeating Algeria’s CS Constantine 2-0 in Lubumbashi, with strikes from Jackson Muleka and Tresor Mputu.

Coach David Mwakasu knows his team is favoured to overcome Simba, but believes the Tanzanian side will be tough opponents.

“According to the experience that I have, Simba SC, like the other sub-Saharan teams, often pose a lot of problems,” said Mwakasu.

“For them, when they play TPM, it’s a Club World Cup final… Simba SC deserves respect, I bet we must expect two very high-profile games.

“These Tanzanians are very strong at home and score a lot of goals now. We are warned, we must make every effort not to fall into the trap [of underestimating Simba] because this year the goal is to go to the final.”

Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal will be in charge of the match in Dar Es Salaam. The return game is scheduled for Saturday 13 April at Stade TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi.