Orlando Pirates, RS Berkane battle for Confederation Cup title in Nigeria

South African giants Orlando Pirates and Moroccan powerhouse RS Berkane will be looking to complete their long quest of lifting the 2021/2022 CAF Confederation Cup when the two sides meet in the grand finale set to be held on Friday night at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria.

2.80 Orlando Pirates 29.5 RS Berkane 2.60

Ahead of the title decider, Berkane boast of being one-time winners of the Confederation Cup as they clinched their first title in the 2019-20 campaign after seeing off Egyptians Pyramids by a solitary goal.

On the other hand, Pirates, who are in their third appearance in the Confederation Cup, go into the tie seeking to make history as they have never lifted the gong with their best performance coming back in 2015 when they finished as runners up after losing 2-1 on aggregate to Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.

Their two previous appearances were in 2004 when they reached the play-off round and last season when they got to the quarter finals, losing 5-2 to eventual champions Raja Club Athletic of Morocco.

On the biggest stage, this is going to be the first ever meeting between the two sides in continental football with both teams looking to bag honours that is a match away from them.

To qualify for the final, the Moroccans staged a brilliant comeback as they came from 1-0 down in the first leg against TP Mazembe to winning 4-2 on aggregate in the semifinal.

“The preparations for the match were only to restore physical strength after the TP Mazembe match. We did well to read the game against them and we avoided rushing and tried to tire the opponent’s players, something which paid off. For this match, we have reviewed tapes of the Orlando Pirates team in order to study the strengths and weaknesses of the South African team,” Berkane head coach Florent Ibenge said in a pre-match conference.

CAFCC: RS Berkane pull stunning comeback to set up final date against Orlando Pirates

"It will be a big match against Ibenge, who we consider a good coach. We will try to represent our country well and I expect a good match. We know the atmosphere and the nature of the matches against Moroccan clubs because we have faced some of them before. It will be a tough match but we hope to win,” Orlando Pirates’ Mandla Ncikazi remarked.

The match will kick off at 2200EAT with the winner securing the title and also the chance to face the winner of the CAF Champions League in the CAF Super Cup.