Defending Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions Mamelodi Sundowns are in action on Sunday, as they host AmaZulu at Loftus Versfeld.
The Tshwane giants remain unbeaten in the league and victory will propel them back up to top spot in the standings.
Mamelodi Sundowns vs AmaZulu: PSL match preview
They come up against a side enjoying a better start than what they endured in the previous campaign, where they spent the majority of the season fighting relegation.
In their three matches, Usuthu have claimed victory, suffered defeat and had to settle for a draw.
According to defender Thapelo Xoki, the team is confident of delivering against the treble winners.
“We’re going away, it’s different ball game altogether, playing away and playing against a team that we know is competing for the league,” Xoki said.
“A team that are champions and a team that is not easy to play against. But we have to pick ourselves up and make sure that we get the momentum going because we must try and build on the results we got in the last game.
“It’s a big game and it’s a big three points up for grabs. We know they will want to get the three points, but we also want to get the three points.”
Thapelo Xoki, AmaZulu
Sundowns, on the other hand, are sweating over the availability of one of their key players in Andile Jali, who is a doubt for the clash.
“He has not trained with us. But we are getting good feedback from the doctors,” co-coach, Rhulani Mokwena revealed.
“So we have to see on AJ and assess leading up to the game. When Kermit comes back from Bafana Bafana we have to assess him because it’s a muscular injury and all these studies show that niggles are always related to injury, 75% of the time.
“So it’s important to treat that as precautionary and get our medical team to assess and have a look because Kermit is important for us.”
Rhulani Mokwena, Mamelodi Sundowns
Head-to-head results
Things have been a lot closer in this fixture since AmaZulu returned to the top flight in 2017.
Usuthu have registered two wins to Sundowns’ three in this period, with just one match ending in a draw.
However, in the past decade, the Durban outfit has only beaten the men from the nation’s capital just three, tasting defeat 11 times.
Kick-off at TV channel
The match between Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu kicks off at 15:30 (SAST) and is live on Supersport PSL channel (202) and SABC 1.
