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Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena admits that Masandawana will need to dig deep in order to come away with a positive result from their Caf Champions League first-round showdown with Botswana champions Jwaneng Galaxy at the Lobatse Stadium on Tuesday afternoon (15:30 kick-off).

The match is the first of a two-legged affair, with the return game taking place in Pretoria on January 6.

The Botswana champions earned their spot in the first round of the Champions League after beating US Zilimadjou of Comoros 5-1 on aggregate, while Sundowns were handed a bye in the preliminary round.

The Tshwane club head into the match on the back of a testing week in which they were still mourning the tragic death in a motor vehicle accident of defender Motjeka Madisha. Just three weeks before that tragedy, another of their team-mates, Anele Ngcongca, passed away in the same manner.

Despite the obvious emotional toll, the Brazilians were still able to claim four points last week in the league by beating TS Galaxy and drawing with Golden Arrows.

"The PSL and the Champions League are completely different projects. On the one hand, we have the feelings of being unbeaten and sitting as log leaders, of course, no title is won at this moment," Mokwena said after the draw against Arrows.

"But we have to treat it as an isolated situation and focus on the next two games as isolated projects. In the sense that we need to get a very good result in Botswana, and use the experience that we have as a team to be able to qualify ourselves for the group stage."

Jwaneng Galaxy were founded in 2015 through the merger of two clubs, Jwaneng Comets and Debswana Youngsters.

Already in their short history they have won the league, finished as runners-up in the league, and won two cups.

"Galaxy FC are a good team," Mokwena said.

"We'll get footage from our analysts and try to make sure that we are well prepared for the game. It's going to be tough, you can see with the national team how there's a resurgence in football with regards to what is happening in Botswana.

"So we have to make sure we are well prepared, we have got our work cut out for us. But we know what we have to do. We might not be in the best space emotionally but we know what we have to do and we'll organise ourselves, unify ourselves and focus on getting a very good result."

Express FC striker George Senkaaba has set a target of reaching double figures in the 2020-21 Ugandan Premier League (UPL) after notching his first goal against SC Villa in the derby on Saturday.

The forward signed for the Red Eagles from Kitara FC and despite coming on as a substitute against Onduparaka on matchday one and Bright Stars on matchday two, he earned a starting berth in the away game to Mbarara City, where his impressive display allowed coach Wasswa Bbosa to retain him against the Jogoos in the derby.

And the pacy forward did not disappoint as he scored the only goal of the derby to sink their old rivals 1-0 at Wankulukuku and according to the player, the hard work has now paid off.

“Like any forward, your confidence grows when you score, and to score in the derby is beyond delightful,” Senkaaba said as quoted by the club’s official website.

“Of course it was teamwork but as a forward, my target is to hit double figures, we now go back to restrategise for the remaining matches.

“When we came back from Mbarara City, we decided to iron out our mistakes, it wasn’t an easy game but I am happy we picked up a win, it’s not all over, we shall go back and plan for more wins.”

Express coach Bbosa said the most important thing from the fixture was to get a win.

“The most important thing is that we have earned the three points in the derby, our target remains trying to win silverware, this is now done, we look forward to the next game, come next year," he told the same publication.

Against Villa, Express delivered an early Christmas present to the fans after Ssenkaaba cooly and calmly slotted home from the left-wing, leaving shot-stopper Saidi Keni helpless, for the winning goal.

The game saw both teams cancel each other out in either half with few chances to write home about. Forward Eric Kambale rattled the crossbar 18 minutes into the game while Kabonge Nicolas sent his freekick off the mark from just outside the 18-yard area.

The win took Express to eight points after four matches and the league will now take a break and resume in February 2021 owing to the African Nations Championships (Chan) to be held in Cameroon.

Young Africans (Yanga SC) coach Cedric Kaze has explained how they recovered to beat Dodoma Jiji in a Mainland Premier League match played on Saturday.

The Jangwani giants went into the match as the favourites but it was the promoted side who took a shock lead in the third minute through Seif Karihe.

Yanga then recovered to score goals courtesy of defender Lamine Moro, substitute Saidi Ntibazonkiza and Bakari Mwamnyeto, to bag maximum points from the hotly contested fixture played at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha.

The Burundian has now explained his players never gave up despite going down in the opening minutes and that the use of dead balls helped them to secure the win.

“We knew that we were facing a team which prefers to defend a lot as they usually let many players behind the ball,” Kaze said as quoted by Daily News.

“Playing on this type of the pitch, we knew that the game would be judged via dead balls and we had to train hard on that area.

“We watched a couple of their league matches they played to study them on how they play. Unfortunately, we accepted an early goal which made us play under pressure since we registered more incomplete passes.

“The good thing was that my players did not lose hope and we managed to get back into the game by scoring vital goals.”

Kaze also lauded skipper Moro for turning up at the crucial moment with the opening goal, which set his team up for the vital win.

Meanwhile, Dodoma Jiji coach Mbwana Makata blamed a lack of concentration for the team’s defeat after taking what he called a deserved lead.

“The two set pieces they had near to our goal were wisely used by them hence sourcing the two winning goals. For now, we have to look to our next fixtures and make sure that we get back swiftly into the game," he was quoted as saying by the same publication.

The win helped the Timu ya Mwananchi to stretch their unbeaten run to 16 matches and they will remain at the top of the 18-team table with a gap of eight points since second-placed Simba SC, who are away in Zimbabwe for Caf Champions League duty, have 32 points and third-placed Azam FC 29.

Azam FC have assured their fans that they will sign new players to beef up the squad in the ongoing mini transfer window.

The short window opened on December 16 and will run until January 15, 2021, and it gives teams the opportunity to look at their weaknesses and reinforce squads ahead of the second round of the campaign.

The Chamazi-based giants, through their media officer Zakaria Thabit, have now said they will definitely be in the market for quality signings especially in the striking area, where they have lost lead striker Prince Dube to injury.

“Azam are a big club and for any big clubs across the world, you must sign players anytime the transfer window is open, be it short window or long term window,” Thabit told Azam TV.

“Even if today Azam had in their squad Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robert Lewandowski, we will still sign new players, because signing players is what big teams’ prides for if you don’t sign they will call you a small team and you become a discussion.

“Last window, Real Madrid never signed and it became a big story, and last season Tottenham Hotspur did not sign and it also became a very big story, we must sign because it is a must to sign and that is the reason the window is wide open.”

On why they are yet to sign as the window was opened five days ago, Zakaria said: “We are heading into the transfer window with a new coach, and the coach has asked us we give him time first to check his squad before we know where to add or remove.

“For Simba and Yanga SC they have already seen their weaknesses because they have their coaches intact, and that is why they have already been involved in the transfer, our coach wants to do an assessment of his squad, and understands where we need to beef up and then we can sign, we are not in a hurry, we still have time to sign players.”

Azam are currently in third position on the 18-team table with 29 points from 16 matches, 11 points behind table-toppers Yanga, who have 40 points, and Simba are second on 32 points.

So near, yet so far. East Bengal were just a minute away from registering their first-ever win in the Indian Super League (ISL) but Jeakson Singh’s last-gasp header spoiled their party.

It was a much-improved performance from East Bengal against Kerala Blasters on Sunday. Skipper Danny Fox returned from injury after three matches and provided the much-needed solidity in the backline. 

Coach Robbie Fowler tweaked his tactics a bit from their last game as he switched back to the 3-4-2-1 formation. He deployed Anthony Pilkington as a lone striker with Jacques Maghoma and Mohammed Rafique operating just behind him. Pilkington lent the much-needed sharpness in East Bengal’s attack and his link-up play inside the box was impressive. Also, the decision of utilizing Rafique’s mobility in the attacking third further helped.

Kibu Vicuna returned to his usual 4-2-3-1 formation after experimenting with two strikers in their last game against Bengaluru which miserably failed. Jordan Murray was relegated to the bench as Gary Hooper started as the lone striker. Blasters played their usual possession-based game but failed to make a mark in the final third

Despite Kerala Blasters dominating possession as expected, it was East Bengal who created more goal-scoring opportunities in the first half. The Kerala Blasters defenders were struggling to keep the attacking trio of East Bengal at bay along with Matti Steinmann who was popping up in the box.

The Red and Golds, impressive in the first half, sat back in the second half, probably showing a bit too much respect for Kerala Blasters who had made three changes at half-tiime - bringing on Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and Jordan Murray for Rohit Kumar, Seityasen Singh and Gary Hooper. 

While the Blasters' attack improved ever so slightly, it was also thanks to East Bengal who were desperate for a result and decided to sit back and preserve their advantage. 

However, the Red and Golds did have their moments on the break in the second half and should have taken advantage of them. On several counter-attacks, the Kolkata club looked dangerous but failed to convert in the final third. The attackers seemed a bit complacent and casual at times.

The profligacy was finally punished in injury time when Jeakson managed to head in a cross from Sahal. However, East Bengal have only themselves to blame for sitting back too much and failing to put away their own chances. 

The coach himself acknowledged after the match, that the number of chances they got to score they should have run away with the game. “We are disappointed. It is a game we should have won. We had enough chances to win more than one game. We need to be a little bit more clinical in the final third,” said the Liverpool great..

Kibu Vicuna, on the other hand, has to evaluate his tactics a bit and consider changing their approach. Passing out from the back and keeping possession is not paying dividends as they are yet to register a win after six matches, something they had not experienced in their brief history until this season.

Except for ball possession stats, it could be said that it was a fair result for both sides to get a point from this tie. Both teams still have a lot of work to do in the training pitch and must find a way soon to end their respective winless runs.

Karim Benzema is playing "on a different level" after helping Real Madrid to another win, coach Zinedine Zidane said.

Benzema scored and provided two assists as Madrid made it five straight wins in all competitions by beating Eibar 3-1 in La Liga on Sunday.

It was the 30th time the Frenchman has scored and assisted in the same La Liga game. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (44) has done it more often for Madrid in the 21st century.

Benzema's form was lauded by Zidane as Madrid joined first-place Atletico on 29 points, although Diego Simeone's men have played two fewer games.

"Benzema is a match winner because what he's doing is on a different level, not just because of the goals," Zidane told a press conference. 

"I always repeat myself saying the same thing about Karim. It's not only his goals, he's a focal point in our game. He's very important for us and when he scores, it's even better, obviously, but he's very important for our team.

"We have to highlight everyone's performance. It was a great game today and it was a great performance from both teams. It's a well-deserved victory."

Benzema set up Luka Modric to make it 2-0 before Kike pulled a goal back for Eibar, who felt they should have had a late penalty for a handball by Sergio Ramos.

Zidane refused to be drawn on the decision, with Madrid sealing their win through Lucas Vazquez in additional time.

“I didn’t see the handball incident with Ramos. But the referee is the one who decides," Zidane said. "He knows what he is doing and I’m not going to start talking about the referees. If he decided not to give a penalty it’s because he didn’t think it was a handball.”

Madrid's busy run of fixtures continues with a home clash against Granada on Wednesday. Zidane hinted he could rotate his squad for the game, Madrid's third in the span of eight days.

"At the moment this is how we're playing," he added. "Will there be changes? Yes, there will be changes, for sure, because it's a very long and difficult season.

"We rotate a little less now, but the important thing is that the players are performing and everyone will play their part. We've not changed much in the last few matches, but at the moment that's the way it is, these things change and we've got to all keep working together."

PSG star Marquinhos is at "Ballon d'Or level" and should have been recognised by FIFA with a position in the FIFPro Men's World XI for the last year, according to his coach Thomas Tuchel.

The club captain made a successful return from injury in PSG's goalless Ligue 1 draw with Lille after being absent from the last two matches with a hip problem.

Despite being a part of a PSG side that won all four French domestic competitions last season and finished runners-up in the Champions League, Marquinhos missed out on a place in the FIFPro World XI.

Tuchel feels the 26-year-old's performance against Lille showed that he was among the best in the world.

"Tonight, Marquinhos is Ballon d'Or level," Tuchel said to reporters after the game.

"I don't understand his absence in the FIFA XI of the year."

Despite the return of Marquinhos, PSG were hit by three more injuries in the match against Lille, with Presnel Kimpembe, Alessandro Florenzi and Layvin Kurzawa suffering issues.

Tuchel already had to contend with the absence of Neymar and Mauro Icardi, while Kylian Mbappe had fitness problems and could only come on as a late substitute.

The German warned that this season's demanding schedule will "kill the players" with his squad unable to recover properly between games.

"You already know my opinion, we are going to kill the players," Tuchel told Telefoot.

"We are always allowed to play at nine o'clock [in the evening]. We lack the rhythm to eat, sleep, recover. But it will continue like this.

"Today, we miss Neymar, Kylian, Mauro, Juan [Bernat]. Are we surprised? No. Three new players are injured now. Well done."

Speaking after his injury return, Marquinhos was pleased with the point earned by his team but insisted they could have been better in attack.

"We were able to control the match but we could have been more dangerous," the skipper told Telefoot. "We had to be well organised. 

"This is an important point for us, but we are always looking for victory."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard hopes the revival of British managers in the Premier League will inspire a future generation of homegrown coaches.

Sam Allardyce became the 11th British head coach in the Premier League when he was appointed West Brom boss earlier this week.

That is a dramatic increase from just two years ago, when only five top-flight managers were from the UK.

Lampard is one of the British managers to come into the Premier League in that time following his appointment as Blues boss in the summer of 2019.

His side take on David Moyes’ West Ham on Monday, with the Scot having returned to the London Stadium in December last year.

Lampard says the return of experienced bosses like Allardyce and Moyes to the Premier League can only be good for the domestic game and will hopefully inspire players who are close to retiring to go into management.

“In the modern world, I don't think it matters where you're from," said Lampard.

“But it is nice that this is the Premier League here in England and we are seeing some British managers coming through and doing very well.

“I know there will be a lot of hard work behind that. And if that can inspire younger managers, or players who want to try to become managers, that is a great thing. Sam Allardyce and David Moyes have been doing well for years.”

Chelsea go into Monday's game down in eighth place after back-to-back defeats away at Everton and Wolves.

West Ham meanwhile are currently 10th but can go above Lampard’s side and level on points with sixth-placed Southampton with a win at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard says that highlights what a good job Moyes has done in east London, given the Hammers were tipped by many to struggle at the start of the season.

“The clubs he's managed are top clubs,” added Lampard.

“What he's doing at West Ham is the job of a top manager. The observations of others who think he needs to redeem himself don't matter. I don't see it that way. There's nothing for him to redeem.”

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa said he will not abandon his attacking style despite his side's thrashing at Manchester United.

The Whites were on the wrong end of a 6-2 scoreline at Old Trafford in an incredible game that saw 43 shots on goal.

Bielsa’s side once again earned plaudits for their bold, attacking play, but Sunday’s result now means they have conceded 30 goals this season, more than any other Premier League side.

However, no team in the bottom half of the table has scored more than Leeds’ 24 goals, with Bielsa insistent that he will not alter the team’s tactics in response to the result in Manchester.

"In the first half we had similar chances to the ones they had but we weren't able to score," he told Sky Sports.

"Our attacks came from combination play and their attacks came from the fact we were losing the ball in attacking positions, and they would transition from defence to attack. Our return was slower than their transition.

"[At half-time] we were losing by a big margin and I wanted to make the couple in midfield more competitive and make them recover the ball easier.

"We will not abandon the way we play.”

Leeds striker Patrick Bamford said the team’s performance was not good enough, but accepts that Bielsa’s high risk, high reward strategy will sometimes mean they are on the end of heavy defeats.

"We can't play like that, but we don't blame anyone or single anyone out," Bamford told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It's a team game, and we as a team haven't performed to the level we should have today.

"Everyone is frustrated and disappointed but we've got to stick together.

"I can imagine for the neutral that watching Leeds is great all the time.

"To be honest, today I'd have much preferred a boring 1-0 win, but it's our style of play. Sometimes it works but if you're one yard out of place you get picked off against the best players.

"If we play exactly the way [the manager] wants to, we'd win every game. But we're human and we make errors and sometimes we're not quite at it."

Bertrand Traore scored his first Premier League goal for Aston Villa in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, in the process ending his four-year wait to find the back of the net in the English topflight.

The Burkina Faso international had assisted Anwar El-Ghazi for the Claret and Blue Army’s first goal just five minutes into the game at the Hawthorns.

Traore darted down the right flank before bending a cross to the back post for the Netherlands international to score.

The hosts’ ambition of equalising got dashed in the 37th minute as Jake Livermore was given the marching orders following a high and reckless tackle on Jack Grealish.

He doubled his side’s advantage in the 84th minute after he collected an offload from Grealish, charged forward, cut back before picking out Sam Johnstone’s corner with a sublime finish.

El-Ghazi completed his brace from the penalty spot four minutes later after Nigeria international Semi Ajayi had bundled down captain Grealish.

Traore moved to Villa Park after falling out of favour at Lyon where he scored just four goals and provided five assists in 35 competitive appearances, his lowest goal involvement for the French giants. Overall, he had a hand in 50 goals (33 goals, 17 assists) for Les Gones, playing 126 times.

His career began at Chelsea where he played 16 times between 2014 and 2017, scoring four goals and providing an assist. During that time, he was loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem and Ajax in the Netherlands.

On his return to English football, he got a goal as Aston Villa got the better of Bristol City 3-0 in the EFL Cup third round at Ashton Gate on Thursday night.

With this result, Villa moved to ninth in the Premier League log after garnering 22 points from nine outings.

They take on Crystal Palace at home on Boxing Day in their next Premier League game, while West Brom are next in action against Liverpool on the road on December 27.

On the international scene, Traore made his senior debut for the Stallions at the age of 15 years in a friendly match against Equatorial Guinea.

He has also represented the West African country at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Pep Guardiola does not expect to bring in a new striker during the January transfer window, despite Manchester City's goalscoring problems.

City have scored just 19 goals from their 13 Premier League matches, 18 fewer than at the same stage last season.

The club's greatest ever goalscorer Sergio Aguero has missed much of the season as he recovers from knee surgery while Gabriel Jesus was also missing from the 1-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday.

But asked about the possibility of signing a forward, Guardiola said: "No I don’t think so. The economic financial situation is what it is. All the clubs struggle and we are no exception."

Guardiola is frustrated by the lack of goals but believes City will start scoring regularly again as they have throughout his time at the Etihad Stadium.

"It’s not a lack of rhythm – it’s a lack of momentum to score goals," he added. "They make good situations, it’s not rhythm, it’s momentum.

"Goals are something special, it’s a touch and a flow and now we don’t have it.

"At the same time we will get closer to it by winning games and that’s why [Saturday] was so important."

City's scoring problems have been offset by a stronger defence, as Guardiola's side have conceded just once in their last eight Premier League and Champions League matches.

Summer signing Ruben Dias has helped shore up the defence while John Stones has rediscovered his best form since re-establishing himself in the first team.

"It’s incredible, that’s the way we can still be there, knocking on the door of the teams above us, work hard and be solid," Guardiola said.

"Ruben has helped us a lot since he came. He’s settled well with John. We need it.

"To be this stable and waiting for the people up front and one day maybe we’ll be fresh to score goals."

Dias has added leadership to a defence that struggled last season but Guardiola played down comparisons with former captain and club legend Vincent Kompany.

"He’s always focussed. He’s able to lead the line, the same with John," he said. "That’s why our club bought an exceptional player, especially for his personality. You have to build something from them.

"Vincent is irreplaceable – he was 10 years here. When I met him he was maybe 31 years old and Ruben is 22 or 23.

"It’s important to buy players who can help you for many years and we are pretty sure he is going to give us big moments."