One of the fiercest football battles will be waged on Sunday when Ghana Premier League giants, Hearts of Oak, engage Morocco powerhouse, Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) in the first leg second round preliminary tie at the Accra Sports Stadium.

After thrashing lower-tier side Dzida 6-1 in a test game, the Phobians will be aiming to give the Moroccans a taste of their cake before making a trip to Casablanca a week later for the return fixture.

The 2000 CAF Champions League showed CI Kamsar the exit door after edging pass the Guinea opponents in one-off game weeks ago to book a battle with the 21-time Moroccan champions.

Should the Rainbow lads cross this daunting hurdle against the former African champions, they will feature in the group stages of the most prestigious club competition on the continent for the first time since 2006.

The last time Hearts played against a Moroccan club, they failed to advance to the next stage of the competition after Raja Casablanca managed a draw in Accra and narrowly beat Hearts 1-0 in Casablanca for the second leg.

However, some pundits of the game argue the recent long-standing absence of the Phobians and the consistence performance of Wydad on the continent will be too difficult a hurdle to cross with WAC already recording a 100 per cent output in the league after five games.

Currently on top of the league, the Moroccans will be counting on prowess of star man Zouheir El Moutaraji to cause havoc to the backline of Hearts.

The young Moroccan forward has scored two in five games and will be eager to continue his sublime form, come Sunday.

Coach Samuel Boadu and his charges are poised to leave no stone unturned as they aim to make the group stages.

Forward Kofi Kordzi, Daniel Afriyie and Isaac Mensah could headline the attack. The return of midfielder Abdul Aziz Nurudeen will be huge boost as midfielder Emmanuel Nettey has been reported a doubt for the tough clash.

By Linus Siaw Nartey