Match Preview: Sundowns target Spurs scalp

Mamelodi Sundowns will be expecting an easy three points at home to Cape Town Spurs on Wednesday.

While the Brazilians are top of the DStv Premiership with maximum points from their opening 10 games, their midweek opponents are rock bottom with three points from 13 matches.

Rulani Mokwena’s side needed a penalty to overcome AmaZulu in their last league match and most recently were held to a goalless draw in the CAF Champions League to Egypt’s Pyramids FC, having just a week earlier lost to DR Congo giants TP Mazembe.

But those results will mean little to a team that was comprehensively thumped 3-0 by Stellenbosch in their last encounter, under new head coach Ernst Middendorp, with their only points this season coming from a 2-1 victory over Orlando Pirates in November.

Middendorp also oversaw a 2-1 defeat to Royal AM in his first game in charge of the club.

Mokwena said in the Sowetan: “We have so many things to talk about that influence what’s going on at the moment. But we have to soldier on. Hangover is not one of the reasons for our performances at the moment.

“We have a very important game on Wednesday and then we have to try to prepare for the away match against the same team and it’s going to be very difficult again.

“Let’s try to recover and rest a little bit and try to prepare ourselves. It’s still a long month and there are still a lot of games to go.”

Middendorp, meanwhile, revealed just before joining Spurs that he felt Sundowns were virtually unbeatable this season.

He said on Times Live: “We are talking at the end of October and I am making it clear to say Sundowns will again have about 20 points [gap] or maybe less because they are busy with other competitions.

“I will say in October they will be the champions at the end of the season.”