Esperance ST vs Al-Merreikh Prediction: The visitors can’t pull any stunts here

On Saturday, Tunisian heavyweight Esperance ST will lock horns with Sudan-based Al Merreikh at the Stade Olympique Hamadi Agrebi Stadium. This group is regarded as the “Group of Death” with notable names like CR Belouizdad and Zamalek. It’s almost certain Esperance ST will make it out of this group, but we can’t say that for the visitors.

The Blood and Gold side are the most successful team in the Tunisia Professional League, with thirty-one (31) league titles. They have won the Tunisia Cup fifteen times while securing the Tunisia Super Cup six times. They have triumphed in the CAF Champions League four times and are the second most successful side in the competition's history.

Esperance ST had a rough start to the season but have bounced back just in time for their CAF campaign. They sit at the top of the Tunisian Group A league with thirty-one points from a possible forty-five.

Nabil Maaloul's men almost lost their champions league group spot to Plateau United; however, a dodgy penalty awarded them helped secure a ticket to this round. Since that terrible performance, Esperance ST have improved massively, and we can see them finishing in the top four this season.

The Glowing Red are regular participants in this competition. They made it to the group stage last season but failed to progress after finishing at the bottom of the table.

Al-Meririkh are a top team in Sudan and a runner-up in the CAF confederation competition in 2017. Their best results in this competition were a quarter-final finish in 1975 and a semifinalist in 2015. Since then, it has been a terrible experience.

Al Merreikh have been struggling to score in recent games, leading their Brazilian coach Heron Ferreira to bolster their squad. Heron brought in no less than four Brazilian players and a couple more foreign signings.

Both sides have met three times, with Esperance winning twice and Al Merreikh recording a victory. Esperance ST have in their cart some great players who are well experienced in this competition. They have everything in place to secure all the points here, and we are backing them with a win for 1.40.

We expect Esperance ST to have learnt their lesson after almost losing their spot to Nigerian-based side Plateau United in the qualifying round. Bet on a home win and under 2.5 goals for 2.40.

Bet on a correct score of (2-0) for 4.80.

Good luck!