Patrice Carteron on Sunday begins a quest to become only the third coach to win the CAF Champions League and the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup.
Tunisian Faouzi Benzarti and Ghanaian Cecil Jones Attuquayefio achieved the feat and Frenchman Carteron led Congolese club TP Mazembe to the 2015 Champions League title.
The 48-year-old former defender was hired this week by Confederation Cup trophy-holders Raja Casablanca after they sacked Spaniard Juan Carlos Garrido following poor results.
Carteron coached Mali in his first African assignment and moves to Morocco having taken Al Ahly of Egypt to the 2018 Champions League final.
In matchday 1, Raja are away to fellow Moroccans Hassania Agadir in Group A, which includes a third club from the kingdom in Renaissance Berkane.
AFP Sport previews the opening series of matches in the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.
Group A
Six-time CAF title winners Raja have been off form lately and struggled to get past minnows African Stars from Namibia in a play-off to secure a group place.
Hassania are newcomers to the mini-league phase of the competition and have impressed at home in the Confederation Cup this season, scoring 10 goals in three matches.
AS Otoho Oyo of Congo Brazzaville host Berkane and are enjoying a much better second campaign in Africa after conceding nine goals away to an Algerian club last year.
Group B
A Tunisian derby between two former Confederation Cup winners, Etoile Sahel and CS Sfaxien, stands out in a section that includes Enugu Rangers of Nigeria and Salitas of Burkina Faso.
Etoile have barely been tested in Africa this season having received byes in two of the three qualifying rounds leading to the group phase.
Beanpole Angolan striker Manucho, once on the books of Manchester United, is a possible starter for a Sfaxien side coached by former Dutch star Ruud Krol.
Group C
Lazarous Kambole forms a prolific strike force for Zambian club Zesco United with Kenyan Jesse Were.. By ISSOUF SANOGO (AFP) There are also two clubs from one country in this group with Zambians Zesco United and Nkana up against Al Hilal of Sudan and Asante Kotoko of Ghana.
Zesco host Nkana while two-time African champions Kotoko are away to Hilal in Omdurman, where the temperature is expected to reach 37 degrees celsius (99 fahrenheit) on Sunday.
In what appears an evenly balanced section, Zesco may have a slight edge thanks to prolific scorers Lazarous Kambole and Kenyan Jesse Were.
Group D
Gor Mahia are the only Kenyan club to win a CAF competition, lifting the now defunct African Cup Winners Cup 32 years ago by shocking Esperance of Tunisia in the two-leg final.
This is their second successive appearance in the group stage and they will hope to atone for failing to make the 2018 quarter-finals from a favourable position.
Gor host Zamalek of Egypt, one of the favourites to go all the way in the Confederation Cup this season, while Hussein Dey of Algeria are at home to Petro Atletico from Angola.
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