Moroka Swallows head into the DStv Premiership fixture with Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday having had a slump in form … and history is not on their side either.

The Birds have not beaten Sundowns in more than a decade, since a 1-0 away win in March 2013. A Siyabonga Nomvethe penalty settled that contest after Method Mwanjali was red-carded for his role in giving away the spot-kick.

Swallows have spent time outside the topflight since then, but in 11 fixtures between the duo that have been played, Sundowns have won eight to go with three draws.

That includes a 1-0 victory for The Brazilians in the MTN8 quarterfinals this season as Themba Zwane scored the only goal in a match in which Swallows lost Andile Jali to a seventh minute red card.

The win for Swallows in 2013 was part of a six-game unbeaten run against Sundowns, where they claimed four wins (including three in a row) and two draws over the previous two years.

The teams have met on 79 occasions in all competitions since the formation of the National Soccer League in 1985, with Sundowns winning 34 of those (43%).
Swallows have claimed victory in 22 of those (28%) and there have been 23 draws.

The Birds will have nightmares about facing Peter Shalulile, he scored a hattrick against them in a 4-2 win in 2021/22 and also netted in the other fixture that season as Sundowns won 3-0 at home.

Swallows do have two 0-0 draws in their previous four away games (and lost the others), which came at Polokwane City and Royal AM. Coach Steve Komphela, who knows this Sundowns side backwards from his few years there as a senior coach, will see that as a great result.

Sundowns’ 0-0 draw at Cape Town City on Sunday was the first time they have been kept scoreless in the DStv Premiership since a goalless draw in April … at Swallows.

Just as a weird aside, City and Sundowns have finished 0-0 in four of their last five meetings, all league matches.