CAF Champions League: Rivers United seeks revival after poor start

Nigeria’s Rivers United return to continental duty this weekend under mounting pressure, knowing that anything short of a positive result could severely dent their hopes of progressing in the 2025/26 CAF Champions League.

The Port Harcourt-based side have endured a difficult start to their group campaign, losing their opening two matches before the competition paused for the Africa Cup of Nations. Now bottom of Group A, Rivers United head to Zambia on Saturday to face Power Dynamos in what has become a must-win encounter as the group stage reaches its halfway mark.

With only four matches to play and qualification margins often razor-thin, Matchday 3 represents a defining moment for the Nigerian champions. A third straight defeat would leave Rivers United with a mountain to climb, while a victory could reignite belief and bring them back into contention ahead of the reverse fixtures.

The clash in Ndola comes just hours before another heavyweight showdown in Group A, where Morocco’s RS Berkane welcome defending champions Pyramids FC of Egypt in a tie expected to shape the group’s hierarchy. For Rivers United, the results elsewhere will matter—but first, they must arrest their own slide.

lsewhere in the CAF Champions League, attention shifts to Cairo today as record holders Al Ahly host Tanzania’s Young Africans in Group B, with the Egyptian giants aiming to tighten their grip on qualification. In Pretoria, Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Hilal Omdurman lock horns in a pivotal Group C contest that could determine early group supremacy.

North Africa also takes centre stage in Group D, where Espérance de Tunis face Simba SC in a high-stakes duel, while Petro Atlético travel to Mali to battle Stade Malien as both sides push for momentum.

The CAF Confederation Cup resumes with equally intense storylines, as traditional powerhouses and ambitious challengers fight for breathing space in congested groups. Former champions USM Alger and Wydad Casablanca headline the weekend’s fixtures, while Zamalek face an all-Egyptian showdown against Al Masry in Group D.

With the group stage now at its midpoint, every point carries added weight, and several clubs across the continent will be looking either to consolidate early promise or claw their way back into the qualification race.