Mamelodi Sundowns defender Wayne Arendse stressed the importance of tightening up their defence in the hope of keeping another clean sheet against Wydad Casablanca.

The Brazilians head into the return leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium with a one goal advantage over Wydad of Nation.

The 32-year-old believes his side have prepared well enough to defend their lead over Wydad heading into the second leg.

“In the first leg we managed to get a goal and keep a clean sheet which was two positives,” Arendse told KickOff.com.

“But going in to the second leg, into Wydad’s home venue, we know it’s gonna be tough. For us it is about the preparation and everything.

“Going into the game with a goal, it is important that we hold on to that because at the same time they need to score. So we have got to be tight as a unit defensively. We also have to score because in the back of our minds if we get one goal away then Wydad have to score three.

“We have been preparing quite well. The coaches have emphasised we must be tight defensively and also going upfront we need to sore as well. We must have that balance and know the objective is to score as well, not just to defend. So if we can score early, the earlier the better.”

The match at the Lucas Moripe Stadium kicks off at 22:00.

-This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za