'set-plays Will Be Key Against Esperance': Sundowns Star Allende

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Marcelo Allende expects Esperance de Tunis to play an open game when they meet in the Caf Champions League return leg at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in Tunis on Tuesday 9pm .

Esperance will be desperate to overturn the 1-0 defeat they suffered in the first leg in Tshwane last week, giving Sundowns a slight advantage heading into the second fixture.

In the first leg, the Tunisians were cautious in their approach and applied a low-block that restricted Downs from taking shots from outside the box.

But given the Tunisian giants are a goal down, Allende expects them to come out and attack at home, which he feels will suit Sundowns to better exploit the spaces Esperance leave at the back.

We must maintain that focus from the first leg. They are playing at home, they have to win. That will open up the game, the Chilean midfielder, whose influence for Downs in the middle of the park is often underappreciated, said.