Mamelodi Sundowns will be looking to make it a second win in a row in KwaZulu-Natal, as they take on Royal AM on Saturday afternoon. They are coming off a massive victory of 5-0 against the struggling Maritzburg United.
This was the first match for Rulani Mokwena as sole head coach, following the technical team restructuring at Chloorkop at the beginning of the week. These changes came after Bafana Ba Style suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semi-final second leg last Saturday.
In a match against Team of Choice, Downs looked sharp from the first until the final whistle. They were not playing their typical game where they build up slowly from the back, but they relied more on transition. Nevertheless, they still enjoyed ball possession as usual.
Is this the new style of play for Masandawana? Rulani calls the shots now.
Meanwhile, Thwihli Thwahla are high on confidence, after earning a 3-1 victory over Golden Arrows in their last match. This was their return to winning ways, after suffering back-to-back defeats in the league.
AM were red-hot last season, under the leadership of John Maduka, who left the club in the off-season. Teams would hardly come out with a point in Chatsworth Stadium, but the KZN side hasn’t been consistent in this campaign.
They haven’t lived up to expectations, with many having tipped them as one of the sides that would derail the dominance of Sundowns. But this is their chance to upset the champions, they should be fed up of failing to beat them.
Royal AM currently occupy the eighth position in the DStv Premiership standings, having collected 16 points in 11 games. On the other hand, Downs are still the log leaders after 11 games, and have 25 points in the pocket.
Head to Head:
Since Shauwn Mkhize bought Bloemfontein Celtic and named it Royal AM, they have lost all three games they have played with Sundowns.
Match details:
Royal AM will host the match at the Chatsworth Stadium at 18:00.
