Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has warned his troops to guard against complacency when they host Kaizer Chiefs in Atteridgeville this afternoon.
Sundowns are the best team to beat in domestic football. They are top of the Betway Premiership standings with an impressive 15-point lead.
Despite the second-placed Orlando Pirates having four games in hand, Sundowns’ lead and dominance have them being tipped for a record eight titles in a row.
The stage is set. The battle awaits. ⚔️
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Not only have they been collecting points, but they’ve been ruthless up front, scoring 16 goals in their last five games in the league this month.
So given all those factors, they are undeniable favourites heading into their clash at home to Amakhosi in the league this afternoon.
After all, Chiefs have had their fair share of struggles as they’ve been inconsistent, including being hammered 4-1 by Sundowns’ arch-rivals SuperSport United in their last league clash at home.
Cardoso, speaking during the pre-match press conference in Chloorkop this week, dismissed talks that the pressure is on them to dominate Chiefs from the outset.
“There’s no favourites when the whistle starts. You should go there and show whatever you must. In the end, that’s when you’ll say you were favourites, not before,” Cardoso said.
“The right attitude is all that will be required from the very beginning because if you go to sleep (you’ll be punished).
“I always say with a 100% attitude, you can win everything, but with 99% you can lose everything. So, I don’t allow the players to lose that 1%.
“If I allow that, it would be such a discomfort to myself. That’s why sometimes I even get emotionally stable, but with intention because I need my best players. Not with pressure though.”
Sure, Chiefs are underdogs for this clash, but they are well rested after being inactive for more than a week compared to Sundowns who were playing away to Sekhukhune United on Wednesday.
Chiefs were supposed to have played Royal AM last Saturday, but that game was postponed due to the indefinite suspension of Royal AM matches after their curatorship by Sars.
Cardoso is sweating over the inconsistency of scheduling of matches, but admits that there’s nothing they can do about it apart from showing up and doing their best.
“It would be normal if teams played the same day or the day after another game. But with the schedule, it’s never possible for the team to play days after,” Cardoso said.
“There’s TV rights, management of games, security issues and availability of stadiums. But it would have been normal to have a similar calendar.
“But Chiefs have no responsibility over the team that’s not playing now, Royal AM. It happened like that. They’ll do their part, and we’ll do what we can in our best possible way.
“I can speak about it, but I must look at the context. And the context is this one. Let’s go for it as strongly as we can.”
Sundowns might not be as strong as they desire to be in personnel against Chiefs. They could be without the injured No 1 Ronwen Williams, while No 2 Denis Onyango is suspended.
If Williams is not available that would then leave third-fiddle Jody February to start his third match in succession. But Cardoso is not losing his sleep over the matter.
“Let’s see. Let’s see. We had expected he’ll (Williams) be available, but we don’t stress over that,” explained Cardoso on whether Williams will be fully fit this afternoon.
“For sure, he’ll be back pretty soon. I don’t know whether it will be for this match or the next one. He’s still under assessment (from the medical team).
“I spoke to him in the morning. But we don’t stress, I am pretty comfortable with the situation that I have at the moment. Let’s see what will happen (before match-day).”