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Masoud Juma's former club will face Esperance de Tunis in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League on Friday night.
Algeria's envoys in the African Champions League JS Kabylie face an uphill task against Espérance de Tunis at Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers on Friday night.
The teams' first leg, quarterfinal clash promises to be a thrilling North African battle in which the 1990 African champions will seek a strong advantage to take to Tunis next weekend.
Kabylie were impressive in the previous round as they finished second in Group A behind defending champions Wydad Casablanca.
However, in the domestic league campaign, they are currently placed in the 15th spot with 17 points from 19 matches played so far this season, and they come into the game after a 1-0 loss to 14th-placed Paradou FC.
Miloud Hamdi, the Kabylie coach, expects his charges to forget the poor form in the Algerian league when they meet with Esperance in the quarterfinals of the African elite competition.
"We have to forget the championship and focus only on the match against EST," he said as per SuperSport. "We have to play our chances to the fullest. Qualification will be decided over two rounds and we have to do our best to achieve the best possible result."
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Esperance de Tunis secured their place in the last eight by topping Group D with three wins, two draws, and just one defeat.
The 2019 African champions are coming into the match, having won just two of their last five domestic league matches with their latest result being a 2-0 loss over Olympique Beja on Sunday.
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Esperance are playing in the quarters for the sixth consecutive time, with their last sojourns ending at the last eight.
Nabil Maaloul, the Blood and Gold head coach, says have nothing to fear from the Algerian side, though he admits it will be a tough quarterfinal tie.
"We have to prepare fundamentally from the point of view of the ability to not to make mistakes and strategically, be able to nullify the several strengths of Kabylie," Maaloul told reporters on Thursday.
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JS Kabylie and Esperance de Tunis have met in two previous matches, with both teams claiming a 1-0 win each.
The teams' most recent clash was a 2019-20 Champions League group stages clash in Algiers in February 2020, which Kabylie won 1-0.
The return match is set for April 26 at Stade Olympique de Rades. Egyptian referee Amin Mohammed Omar will take charge of the action on Friday night.
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