Mamelodi Sundowns will look to return to winning ways when they face AmaZulu in a Betway Premiership encounter on Tuesday night at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The defending champions know that a victory by two goals or more would see them leapfrog Orlando Pirates to the summit of the standings on goal difference, adding further significance to the midweek clash.
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The two sides come into the contest on the back of contrasting cup fortunes. Sundowns were dumped out of the Nedbank Cup after a 2-0 defeat to TS Galaxy, while AmaZulu progressed to the quarter-finals of the same competition courtesy of a narrow 1-0 win over Richards Bay.
Despite their fresh setback, the Tshwane giants will draw confidence from their dominant record against Usuthu. The Brazilians have won their last five league meetings against the KwaZulu-Natal outfit, scoring nine unanswered goals in the process.
Miguel Cardoso’s charges arrived in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday afternoon, still smarting from their last-16 exit in the Nedbank Cup. The Portuguese coach is expected to turn to his regular starters after making wholesale changes in the cup defeat, where several fringe players failed to seize their opportunity.
Cardoso admitted after the Galaxy loss that his side fell short and warned against costly lapses in concentration early in the game as he targets an improved performance.
“The team that payed (against Galaxy) is not the team that played before and the level of emotional needs of the two previous matches should have been the same is this one but it was not,” he reflected.
“We tried to be committed and went into the match with a clear idea and a strong mission that we have to accomplish (our goal) under whatever conditions or players.
“When you put yourself down in matches, and going down 2-0 by two mistakes that you basically offered to the opponents before they had chances they could create, then you put yourself in a very uncomfortable place emotionally.”
Although Sundowns have the edge in the head-to-head stakes, they will be wary of an AmaZulu side that has registered four wins in their last matches in all competitions.
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Meanwhile, Arthur Zwane’s team have an opportunity to move into third place if they secure victory and Kaizer Chiefs fails to beat Stellenbosch FC in the other league fixture.
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