Sports Reporter
CONGOLESE giants TP Mazembe will wind off their tour of Zimbabwe with yet another high-profile international friendly when they face Premiership giants CAPS United at Gwanzura this afternoon.
The match kicks-off at 3pm.
Champions League finalists Mazembe have been in the country for the past week and have already played against CAPS United’s rivals Dynamos and Monomotapa.
Mazembe beat Dynamos 1-0 at Rufaro last Saturday in the opening game of their training camp before being held to a 0-0 draw by Monomotapa at Gwanzura on Tuesday.
Ironically, Mazembe beat Monoz 2-0 in their Champions League Group B clash in August.
They had earlier thumped the Premiership champions 5-0 in the first leg in Lumbumbashi.
Those back-to-back victories set Mazembe on the path to winning their group before they accounted for Edward Sadomba’s Al Hilal of Sudan in the semi-final.
Mazembe are not leaving anything to chance in their bid to reach the Promised Land and last week the seasoned Congolese heavyweights chose Harare as their base for their training camp for their showdown with Nigeria’s Heartland in the Champions League final.
Mazembe will face Heartland in the first leg of the Champions League final at the Dan Ayiam Stadium in Owerri on Sunday with the second and decisive leg scheduled for Lumbumbashi two weeks later.
But after facing Dynamos and Monomotapa, the Mazembe management who appear to have been charmed by the quality of the domestic Premiership felt it was imperative that their team gets another test of character from another league heavyweight and resurgent CAPS United naturally fitted the bill.
The CAPS United management who also believe that their fans have been “thirsty to watch their team in action’’ and have pegged the entry charges for this afternoon’s game at US$2.
CAPS United had been enjoying fine form when the Premiership took a break to give way to the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup.
Makepekepe have also had the honour of providing eight players to two different national teams for the Cosafa tournament.
Goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda, defenders Method Mwanjali, Gilbert Mapemba and George Karimumpfumbi, midfielders Ashley Rambanapasi and Tafadzwa Rusike and striker Nyasha Mushekwi are with the Warriors while another midfielder Raquib “Lulu’’ Milanzi was a member of the Malawi side that lost 1-0 to Mozambique in the quarter-finals.
Although they will be without their Warriors contingent, CAPS United team manager Wilson Mutekede said his side was relishing the opportunity of playing the international friendly and boasted that Makepekepe had enough depth in reserve to give Mazembe “a good and final warm-up’’ before they fly out to Nigeria.
CAPS United had their proposed clash with the Flames of Malawi called off at the last minute despite the Malawi senior team having initially agreed to play them at Gwanzura last Friday.
Now CAPS United get a chance to ensure Mazembe do not finish their tour of Zimbabwe unbeaten.
Mutekede pointed out that they still had such players like Tendai “DJ’’ Malaika, Danger Fourpence, Pardon Marime, Vincent Nzombe, Douglas Walaza and rookie midfielder Evans Mwanza at their disposal for the match.
“It is important that we gauge our flow of the game. The PSL games are about to resume and we need to shape up and this game against Mazembe comes at the right time.
“It is also good for the club that we have six players in the national team. Obviously we would have wanted those players but they have a national duty to perform so this gives the opportunity to use some of the players who have not had much game time of late.
“We also saw Mazembe play against Dynamos and Monomotapa and I can say they are a solid team.
“To me they are much better than some of the teams that have been playing in the Cosafa and judging from what I saw of them in the Champions League matches too, I would tip them to have an edge over Heartland in the final.
“But we will certainly give them a good run for their money,’’ Mutekede said. The Herald