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Mamelodi Sundowns will be hoping to return to winning ways when they host rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Absa Premiership today at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Kick-off is at 3:30pm.
Pitso Mosimane’s side are behind in as far as their league schedule is concerned as they were busy with their Caf Champions League commitments.
They only have one win, one loss and one victory over Polokwane City so far and this encounter means they must start collecting points to revive their league title defence aspirations.
Since winning the continental crown, Pitso Mosimane’s men lost to Cape Town City in the league and SuperSport United in the Telkom Knockout Cup, but collected two wins over Rise and Shine in all competitions.
Coming to this one, the Brazilians will now hope to turn the corner against Amakhosi, an encounter which will not come easy as Steve Komphela seems to have a well-oiled machine.
Sitting in 15th spot on the log table with four points from three matches so far, they will have to win this one to climb up the log standings.
“They are in a better space. They won five games in a row before they drew with (Orlando) Pirates. We lost to Wits (in the MTN8 final), to Cape Town City and SuperSport United as well. So emotionally they are a little bit better than us,” said Mosimane.
“They are well rested, they did not have Champions League. They were eliminated too early. They had a pre-season and they worked on combinations.
“Which combinations have we worked on? We are just going with the same team. For us it’s a carry over (from last season).
“The players we bought are the ones who are suffering because we did not have a pre-season. But they are doing much better.
“For them, (Michelle) Katsvairo is gelling now. (Keagan) Buchanan came and he played. Rama (Mphahlele) is playing. So they have had a chance to play their new players.”
Coming to the Naturena-based side, Chiefs are high in confidence as they have enjoyed a good start in the league and they will be hoping to capitalise on Sundowns’ lukewarm state.
Komphela will motivate his side to avenge the two defeats they suffered last season in all competitions and they will be up for the challenge.
Amakhosi have lost once in the league and have managed to collect two draws against Baroka and Orlando Pirates, but bagged a win over Maritzburg United in the TKO Cup.
Although their match ahead of the Fifa break was a loss to Free State Stars, Komphela will motivate his side to go all out and claim the bragging rights over his counterpart, Mosimane.
Chiefs are labelled as title contenders as they are sitting third on the log with 15 points behind Bidvest Wits and SuperSport United.
“I would say the break has been good for us to recharge our batteries,” midfielder Willard Katsande said.
“We needed to regroup after a disappointing run. There were a few things we worked on that we were not happy with.
“That said, the vibes and the spirit in the team is still very high. We want to please our fans as we owe it to them. But like I said we’re a work in progress.”
“We are definitely going to give them the respect they deserve.” – suspersport.com
Online Reporter