Hello good day and welcome to our coverage of the CAF Confederation Cup game between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Kenyan side Kariobangi Sharks in the 1/16th stage of the competition.

Kotoko are hoping to make an impact in African club competitions this term and despite the lack of competitive football on the domestic front, the Porcupine Warriors are hopeful they will beat the odds and triumph against their counterparts.

A good result in today’s first leg clash at the Moi International Stadium in Kaserani, Nairobi, will enhance the Porcupine Warriors’ chances of qualifying for the next stage of the competition after the return leg match at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on December 22.

Kotoko qualified to this stage on a silver platter after the Cameroonian Football Federation failed to submit their representative for the preliminary stage of the competition, handing the Oseikrom lads a walkover. Whether or not that will prove costly will be discovered in the next few hours.

Meanwhile, Kariobangi Sharks head coach William Muluya says his side is not afraid of facing African giants Asante Kotoko when the two sides clash in the first round of the Total CAF Confederation Cup at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

While Kotoko are an experienced lot in terms of African football, Sharks are only playing their maiden CAF competition and their opponents are regarded as a better fit for the terrain compared to them.

“Many will look at us as underdogs heading into this game, but we are ready for it. We know we are playing against a big team but our concentration is on how we can play well at home and win. We need to concentrate on ourselves and not how big our opponents are,” Muluya said as he looks forward to that tie.
Sharks progressed to the first round after whitewashing Djibouti’s Arta Solar 7 9-1 on aggregate in the preliminary round and haven’t lost a competitive game this season.

Game kicks off at 12 pm GMT. Stay with us for all the updates.