Asante Kotoko coach Kjetil Zachariassen believes his players are up for the challenge in their upcoming Caf Champions League encounter with Kano Pillars of Nigeria.

The Porcupine are set to face Masu Gida in the preliminary first round of the championship, with the winners over a two-legged clash progressing to meet Hafia FC of Guinea or Etoile Sahel of Tunisia in the next round.

The first tie is slated for August 10 in Nigeria, two weeks before the return match.

“We are monitoring them [Pillars] as much as we can, they played the Nigerian FA Cup final [on Sunday]," Zachariassen told Footballmadeinghana.

“Kano Pillars are strong offensively but possibly we will be on top of our game because we have been preparing for the past three weeks.

“All our players are ready and good enough to play, that’s why we changed the entire team before the end of the game against Rahimo [of Burkina Faso in our last friendly].

“I have a first 28 but not 11. Some players [are out of training] because of slight injuries.

“We have our plans and alway train on everything we need and know will benefit our players."

Kotoko will be hoping to surpass their performance on their last appearance in the Champions League when they suffered a first-round elimination at the hands of Algerian club MC El Euma in 2015.

Last season, the Porcupines competed in the Confederation Cup, where they reached the group stage.