Sundowns host the first leg of the tie on May 17, with the return in Rabat a week later.
It took until 2017 for the Brazilians to face Moroccan opposition in CAF interclub fixtures, but since then there has been a rush of meetings, with 18 matches played, including two against AS FAR in the pool stages of last year’s competition.
In the 18 previous clashes with Moroccan clubs, Sundowns have five wins, six defeats and seven draws. They have scored 14 goals and conceded the same number, so there is very little to choose between the sides.
Record against AS FAR
The only previous meetings with their final opponents were recent, in the 2024/25 pool stages. That will give both sides good material from which to prepare.
Both games ended in 1-1 draws. Iqraam Rayners gave Sundowns the lead midway through the second half in Rabat, but Mohamed Hrimat equalised for AS FAR to earn a 1-1 draw.
The second fixture was played in Pretoria and Peter Shalulile again gave Sundowns the lead early on, only for El Amine Zouhzouh to equalise for the visitors seven minutes from the end.
Record in the Champions League
Sundowns have met Moroccan opposition in the Champions League on 16 occasions, with four wins, five losses and seven draws. They have scored 11 goals and conceded 12.
Twelve of those games have come against Wydad Casablanca, with two versus AS FAR and two against Raja Casablanca, also in the 2024/25 pool stage.
The other two fixtures against Moroccan clubs came in the final of the African Football League, when Sundowns defeated Wydad 3-2 on aggregate after both teams claimed victory in their home leg.
Never lost at home, never won away
Sundowns have never lost a home tie against Moroccan opposition, but have also never won a CAF interclub game in Morocco.
In their nine previous home fixtures, they have five wins and four draws, scoring 11 goals and conceding five.
In their nine previous visits to North Africa, they have three draws to go with six defeats. They have managed to score three goals and have conceded nine.
They will therefore want to go into the second leg with a lead to defend in Rabat.
Record in knockout ties
Sundowns have won only one of their four knockout ties against Moroccan clubs in CAF interclub competition.
All four have been against Wydad, the first a quarter-final in 2017 that the Moroccans won on penalties.
They clashed again in 2018/19 in the semi-finals, and this time Wydad won 2-1 on aggregate.
They met once more at the same stage in 2022/23 and again Wydad were victorious, though by the narrowest of margins on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
The only two-legged tie Sundowns have won came in the African Football League in 2023, when they met Wydad in the final and, despite a 2-1 away loss, managed to win 2-0 at home.
Clean sheets and failed to score
Sundowns have managed clean sheets in seven of the 18 ties against Moroccan teams, but have also failed to score in the same number.
Coincidentally, both teams have scored in only seven of the 18 matches, or just 39% of the time.
The most common result in these fixtures is a 1-0 loss for Sundowns, which has happened four times, followed by a 1-0 win for Sundowns, 0-0 and 1-1, which have each occurred three times.
Only once has a team won by two goals, which was Sundowns’ success in the second leg of the African Football League decider. It has never happened in the Champions League.