Mamelodi Sundowns will look to pull away from the chasing pack at the top of the Betway Premiership with all three points against Stellenbosch on Wednesday.
The hosts will be buoyed by the fact that they did the double over their counterparts earlier this season in the MTN 8.
Hot Seat
New head coach Miguel Cardoso secured a narrow 1-0 win over Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League in his first game in charge.
Following his side’s win, Cardoso said in the Citizen: “I believe the players are better and the players believe their coaches are even better.
“When you manage the game with so many tactical approaches and in the end, do things in the right way, it makes us believe in ourselves and the structure from everybody.
“The players and I felt that commitment from the very first day and I understood that from the very first day.
“I don’t put myself up too much when we win a game but we need stability. Remember, I spoke about not perfection but consistency so let’s be consistent in our behaviour so that we can arrive somewhere.
“Today was an important one so let’s recover and focus on the next match. The group stage is completely open so let’s be at our best every day and today was obviously very important to get on that path.”
Cardoso was appointed on the same day that the club confirmed that then boss Manqoba Mngqithi was relieved of his duties. Whilst it came as a shock to many, the writing had been on the wall. Due to their loft ambitions, some of the setbacks including an MTN8 elimination, a Carling Knockout final loss to Magesi FC, and a poor start in the Caf Champions League meant a change was necessary.
Player Spotlight
Mamelodi Sundowns hitman Iqraam Rayners has been in red hot form and scored in each of his last five outings, bringing his season tally to an impressive 11 goals in just 14 matches. The Bafana Bafana international continued his goal-scoring streak in the CAF Champions League, securing a crucial 1-0 victory over their opponents. This result propelled Sundowns to the top of Group B alongside Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces.
Rayners, a product of Santos FC, has enjoyed two successful stints with Stellenbosch FC, where he remains the club’s top scorer. He joined Sundowns at the beginning of the current season, where he quickly caught the eye of former coach Manqoba Mngqithi, who famously declared, “Scoring goals is his art.”
The 28-year-old has been a consistent and prolific presence in the Masandawana attack this season and could come back to haunt his former employers in this one.
How to watch
The match is scheduled to kick-off at 19:30 on Wednesday, 18 December and will be carried live on the public broadcaster’s radio stations for commentary. The match will be broadcast live on the Pay-TV platform, SuperSport channel 202 and can also be streamed on Showmax, with the build-up set to commence half an hour prior to kick off.
Cape Town Stadium
The 55 000 seater stadium will host the clash between Stellenbosch and Mamelodi Sundowns. Indeed, this will be a rare appearance for Stellenbosch in the Mother City as their usual venues like the Danie Craven Stadium and the nearby Athlone Stadium have not been available.
The Greenpoint based stadium was initially constructed to host matches during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and has since become the dedicated home ground for the esteemed Western Province Rugby Union.
The stadium’s association with DHL is reflected in its official name and apart from hosting football and rugby matches, it has held music concerts and the sixth edition of Roger Federer’s Matches for Africa.
Betting odds (supplied by Hollywoodbets)
To win (90 min)
31/10 Stellenbosch | Draw 9/4 | Sundowns 19/20
With the amount of attacking talent in both camps, this fixture has goals! Furthermore, both Stellenbosch and Mamelodi Sundowns have found the back of the net across their previous three fixtures respectively.
With Barker doing the double over Masandawana in the MTN8 earlier this season, these two storylines to lead to another exciting and goal-filled game for those neutrals out there.
We tip Stellenbosch to win the tie 2-1 at 13/1.