Mamelodi Sundowns will be hoping to claim their first Absa Premiership win when they travel to Polokwane City on Tuesday, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

READ: Hamren leaves Sundowns role for Iceland job

The eight-time champions kicked off their title defence with a 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs in their mouth-watering encounter at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Pitso Mosimane’s side went behind inside the first ten minutes through former Sundowns defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele before Ricardo Nascimento’s 25th minute equaliser

The stalemate sees the defending champions occupy ninth place in the PSL standings after claiming a point from their first league encounter.

Following the departure of Khama Billiat and Percy Tau, who joined Kaizer Chiefs and Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion, Sundowns were busy in the market, having recently added Mosa Lebusa and Reyaad Pieterse to their roster.

‘We have so many competitions that are facing us‚ which is the first time it has happened to me‚ but we will try to win whatever we can win,’ Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane said.

‘However‚ the last thing I want to do is to compromise the (domestic) league and the CAF Champions League. The league takes you to the Champions League, which is the toughest tournament.

‘I am looking at two out of the five cups‚ it is the culture of this club and we can’t just be happy to qualify for the top eight.’

ALSO READ: Can Dax deliver the PSL title to Kaizer Chiefs?

Meanwhile, Polokwane suffered a 1-0 defeat to newly promoted side Black Leopard in their first game in Polokwane on Saturday.

The defeat leaves Rise and Shine in 12th place in the league standings with a point after their first game.

Polokwane’s new coach Jozef Vukuzic will be hoping to win over the Rise and Shine supporters when they take on the defending champions

‘We were just unlucky against Black Leopards because we played well on the day, but unfortunately, we did not convert our chances,’ Pokokwane City midfielder Sammy Seabi said.

‘We have since shifted our attention and focused on our game against Sundowns on Tuesday. We are more than ready for them.

‘I believe that we can get a positive result against Sundowns if we work hard and take our chances.’

ALSO READ: Why I joined Chiefs instead of going abroad – Billiat

Mamelodi Sundowns and Polokwane City Head-to-Head:

Sundowns failed to collect any points from Polokwane last season as Rise and Shine did the double over the Brazilians, despite Sundowns dominant campaign.

During the 2017-18 campaign, Sundowns failed to collect points from Polokwane

Mosimane’s men last registered a win over Rise and Shine back in November 2016 when they managed to secure a 2-0 victory through goals from Billiat and Tau.

Rise and Shine has managed three victories in clashes between these two sides while Sundowns dominate the head-to-head encounters with five wins from 10 matches played overall.

Mamelodi Sundowns against Polokwane City kicks off at 19:30pm.

Photo: Aubrey Kgakatsi/BackpagePix