Manuel Jose is hoping to win a fifth Champions League title with Al Ahly

The final knockout round of the African Champions League begins this weekend with four former champions battling for places in the group stage.

Al Ahly have won the title a record six times and their coach Manuel Jose is looking for a final Champions League title as his Egyptian side visit Nigeria's Kano Pillars.

The 63-year-old Portuguese coach admitted in an Egyptian television interview that next season will be his last in charge of Ahly.

With the Egyptian season ending in mid-year, Jose will not have another full African campaign with Ahly as the Champions League schedule kicks off in February and continues until November.

Ahly have won four of their record six African titles under Jose.

The first of his titles came in 2001 with a 4-1 aggregate win over Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and his other triumphs came in 2005, 2006 and last year.

He is also hoping to win a fifth consecutive Egyptian title this year with a squad that boasts stars such as Wael Gomaa, Shady Mohamed, Mohamed Aboutrika, Mohamed Barakat, and Angolans Gilberto and Flavio.

Our players see this game as their World Cup final Kano Pillars official Ibrahim Galadima

Jose's opponents this weekend are in the Champions League for the first time but Pillars are confident they can cause a shock.

"Our players see this game as their World Cup final," club official Ibrahim Galadima told the Nigerian media.

"Everybody involved with the team knows that nothing must be left undone to ensure victory on Saturday.

"We must focus on the game and forget tradition and records.

"Ahly should be afraid of us because they have so much to lose while we have nothing to lose."

Fellow official Shehu Adamu drew optimism from the fact several former champions have already been knocked out of the tournament.

Asante Kotoko of Ghana, Canon Yaounde of Cameroon, CARA of Congo, Club Africain of Tunisia, JS Kabylie of Algeria and FAR Rabat of Morocco have all been eliminated already.

"The African record of Ahly should intimidate us, but we are aware that unfancied teams have produced upsets and are confident of shocking the Egyptians," he said.

Form suggests otherwise as Ahly won home and away against Young Africans of Tanzania in the second round while Pillars needed the away-goal rule to edge modest AS Douanes of Senegal after two draws.

Coton Sport, who last year became the first finalists from Cameroon since 1980, are also in Nigeria to face 1988 runners-up Heartland in the south-east town of Owerri.

There are three other former African champions in action this weekend.

TP Mazembe of the DR Congo play host to Morocco's Al Ittihad Khemisset, Asec Mimosas are at home to Zimbabwe champions Monomotapa while Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel are in Libya to face Al Ahly Tripoli.

Two clubs are hoping to make history by being the first from their country to make it to the group stages of the competition.

And Mali's Djoliba host Zesco United of Zambia - neither country has had a representative in the group phase of the Champions League.

Third-round first leg fixtures: Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Al Hilal (SUD)
Kano Pillars (NGR) v Al Ahly (EGY)
Djoliba (MLI) v Zesco Utd (ZAM)
Heartland (NGR) v Coton Sport (CMR)
TP Mazembe (DRC) v Al Ittihad Khemisset (MAR)
Asec Mimosas (CIV) v Monomotapa (ZIM)
Al Ahly Tripoli (LBA) v Etoile du Sahel (TUN)

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