Black Leopards coach Dylan Kerr says his players must not believe that Mamelodi Sundowns are fatigued from all of their traveling on the African continent.
Leopards take on the South African giants on Tuesday night in Thohoyandou with both sides desperate for three points.
The home side require a win or at least a point after some poor recent form has seen them dragged back down into a relegation dogfight.
Meanwhile, Sundowns require a win to go level with Orlando Pirates at the top of the Premiership as the title race heats up.
The Brazilians were recently boosted with the news that the club would not be docked points for fielding the ineligible Wayne Arendse in a match against Bidvest Wits last year.
Kerr told Kickoff: “We gotta go with the same mentality and make sure that we try not to lose the game.
“We gotta have a good go at this. It’s the same with Mamelodi Sundowns, they want three points to win the league, we want three points to stay in the league.
“They still have chance in the league and they still have chance in CAF. But probably the priority for Pitso is CAF, they want to be the kings of Africa and I think he has done it before, hasn’t he?
“He’s done it before so he knows the importance of it. But I don’t want my players to go with the mindset that Sundowns are tired, Sundowns have been traveling.
“You know when you have things in your mind that takes away the focus of how you play as a team. So yes they might prioritise on the Champions League and it’s fantastic for South African football if they do go to the final you know, but we have to think about Black Leopards football club, we have to make sure Black Leopards football club finish in the PSL.”
Kickoff is 19:30 at Thohoyandou Stadium.