Mamelodi Sundowns defender Rushine De Reuck is confident that his side are ready to defend their DStv Premiership title as they prepare for the opening match against Cape Town City on Friday evening.

The Brazilians faced off against the Citizens twice last season in the DStv Premiership but were held to a goalless draw in both the home and away leg.

The Tshwane giants will now begin their title defence when they travel to DHL Stadium to face off against rivals City in the first match of the 2022-23 DStv Premiership season.

De Reuck is keen for his side to start well to successfully defend their treble, while he aims to remain injury free for the campaign following his injury setbacks last season.

“Preparations are going really well, the guys have been working hard and we know that going to Cape Town isn’t going to be easy. City has been a very difficult team for us to beat, even last season we didn’t beat them in the league. We drew twice, we know how difficult that game is going to be, but we also know that it’s our first game of the season and we need to win just to get the momentum going into the next game.

“We are ready and working hard. It’s very important to start the season with a victory, if we win our first game it will give us confidence going into the next game.”

He added: “My goal this season is to stay injury free. I know now that there’s a lot of work that I need to do on the side, like strengthening to stay injury free and always be available for selection.

“I know that if I can get my momentum I can do really well for the team and hopefully we can be able to go all the way and win the Champions League, that’s the most important goal for us as a team.”