An ex-Esperance Sportive de Tunis star has insisted that Percy Tau is one of Al Ahly's most dangerous weapons against his former side ahead of the second leg of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League final this weekend.
Last Saturday, the two sides played out to a goalless draw in the first leg of the competition decider in Tunisia, leaving it all to play for in the return fixture in Cairo this Saturday, 25 May.
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Both teams played a pragmatic game in that first fixture, with the Tunisians registering just one shot on target compared to the Egyptians' zero shots on target.
Despite Tau not affecting the match that much, however, former Esperance defender Walid Hichri is convinced the Bafana Bafana star is one of two dangermen who could have a big say in the 2023/24 CAFCL final.
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The 2010/11 Champions League winner told the Sada El-Balad channel: "Esperance did not expect much to qualify for the final, especially since its results were not good and three coaches left until [Miguel] Cardoso came, and the players' level is good, but not better than the players of 2019 [when they won the CAFCL].
"Esperance against Sundowns [int he semi-finals] did not shoot or make any attack. It was playing with a defensive plan. I think it is better to play in the same way and play with three midfielders and two attackers. It is impossible for Cardoso to rush against Al Ahly. Al Ahly is the one who will rush to score an early goal to kill the match.
"The first leg was dominated by the defensive nature of the two teams. Al Ahly was playing cautiously outside its stadium, and tried to score a goal or keep a clean sheet, and Esperance was unable to score, and the match was in the middle of the field.
"I think that [Ahly manager Marcel] Koller will start with Wissam Abu Ali, and he may change and start with Kahraba, and the dangerous ones in Al Ahly for me are Percy Tau and Hussein Al-Shahat."
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If the Red Devils win, it will be their second successive CAFCL title under Marcel Koller, equalling Pitso Mosimane's record of two Champions League title in a row in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
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