Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena is expecting a “good” battle when the Brazilians take on Tshwane rivals SuperSport United at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Wednesday.
The Brazilians will come into this fixture off the back of a convincing 3-0 victory over FC Nouadhibou in the Caf Champions League thanks to goals from Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Peter Shalulile and Gastón Sirino at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
SuperSport, meanwhile, will look to bounce back and return to winning ways after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Modern Future in their opening Caf Confederation Cup encounter on Sunday.
Sundowns currently occupy second place in the league standings with 24 points from eight matches, while SuperSport are a place and a point behind them after 12 matches.
“It is difficult to speak about that because the reality is we just go one game at a time and we try to win the game and make sure that whatever it is that we have to participate in, we do it to the best of our abilities,” Mokwena told his club’s official website.
“To develop you need training and unfortunately we don’t train. Even during the FIFA break, I had to give a couple of players some days off.
“I had Bafana Bafana players in the national team who came back with injuries and it was very difficult to even conduct trainings. We have to go on with the business and win games and try the best that we can.
“We have no excuses and no matter how valid the excuses may be, we have that mentality where we present no excuses and try to give the best that we can every single day because that’s what this club deserves.”
He added: “I’m happy that we have prepared the stadium for SuperSport United, so we will be playing on a very good pitch and that’s one of the conditions you need for a good game.
“You also need a good team, which is Mamelodi Sundowns and a good opponent, which is SuperSport United. Those three conditions can for sure put us in a space where we can expect a good derby on Wednesday,” he concluded.
Photo by Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
