Esperance de Tunis must overturn a 1-0 deficit when they host Swehly in the decisive second leg of their African Champions League qualifying play-off on Saturday.

The match, which takes place six days after the first leg in Libya, is the second and final preliminary round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) competition. Esperance de Tunis will need a significant improvement after being beaten by the Libyan side in Misrata.

Kick-off is scheduled for 18:00 French time at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in Rades. It will start at 17:00 in Tunisia and Algeria.

There will be no free-to-air broadcast in France. However, Esperance de Tunis have confirmed that the match will be streamed free on the club’s official YouTube channel. In Tunisia, the game will also be shown live on Watania 1.

Swehly took the lead in the first meeting through Ayoub Ayed, who converted a disputed penalty in the 62nd minute. The Tunisian forward’s goal secured a narrow advantage for the “Red Knights”, who are pursuing what would be a historic qualification for the Champions League group stage.

Esperance de Tunis must win by at least two goals to qualify without a penalty shoot-out. A one-goal victory would leave the tie level on aggregate and require penalties to determine which team progresses.

The home side will be without captain Youcef Belaili. The 34-year-old winger was booked for a second time after the final whistle following a heated protest against decisions made by Congolese referee Jean-Pierre Ngini. As a result, Belaili is suspended for the return match.

His absence adds to the challenge facing Esperance de Tunis as they attempt to avoid an early exit from the competition. Failure to reach the group stage would mark the first time since 2017 that the club had missed out on the final phase of the African Champions League.

The team must therefore overturn the result from the opening fixture while dealing with the loss of its captain in a match that will decide whether its continental campaign continues.