Mamelodi Sundowns are set to battle high-flying Sekhukhune United at Loftus Versfeld Stadium this evening just three days after their trip to Tunisia where they squared off against Esperance de Tunis.
The Pretoria-side is currently sitting comfortable at the helm of the DStv Premiership log table with 53 points and are ten points ahead of second place Stellenbosch FC with three games in hand.
They will be looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss against Esperance in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals which followed a 2-2 draw against struggling Moroka Swallows who are seated too close to the relegation zone.
Sundowns are on the verge of making history by clinching their seventh consecutive league title and also hold the record for the longest unbeaten start to a new season in PSL history should they avoid defeat in this match.
Given the depth of their squad it will be interesting to see if Rulani Mokwena will shuffle his team and rest some of his regular starters given the fact that they will be facing Esperance in the must-win return leg on Friday.
Sekhukhune on the other hand will be looking to take advantage of the Downs recent struggle to record a win as well as their busy schedule by handing them their first defeat of the season. They are seated fourth in the log with 39 points and are in line to qualify for CAF competitions should they continue to collect points and secure a top four finish.
They narrowly escaped a draw in their recent 1-0 win against Cape Town Spurs which stretched their unbeaten league record to nine consecutive matches.
Elias Mokwana who impressed in the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations with Bafana Bafana has been continuing with his remarkable display together with Linda Mntambo who recently won player of the month for March while coach Lehlohonolo Seema also won Coach of the month for the same month. The pair has been instrumental in the club’s recent form and are expected to trouble the home side’s defence.
Speaking to SowetanLive, Seema said: “The players have been conditioned. This team [Sundowns] has been playing a lot of games. So, you can’t expect that they will be tired. We are expecting a difficult game, especially since we will be playing away.
“We have to look at ourselves at the moment, trying to prepare and make sure that we are ready to take that game. If we focus more on Sundowns and neglect ourselves… we will be making a big mistake. We will see what they have put on the line-up.”
The last five matches between the two ended in favour of The Brazilians who have won four and the other tie ended in 1-1 stalemate.
Written by Siphesihle Soni