The Mamelodi Sundowns camp is wary of potential influence of their former man Bongani Zungu, as they prepare to take on AmaZulu.
The two teams, competing at opposite ends of the table, will clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium today at 3pm. Usuthu welcomed new man Zungu to their gunkraal recently as a free agent following months of uncertainty around his next move.
The 32-year-old departed the Brazilians at the end of last season and is now in line to make his debut for his new club against a club he served with distinction over two stints. One man who had been with ‘Ben10’ in those years at the Chloorkop based outfit is midfielder Siphelele Mkhulise.
The KwaZulu-Natal born Mkhulise previewed his side’s visit to Durban and expressed that although he doesn’t expect his ex-partner to feature for a full 90 minutes, he and his teammates are well aware of the type of impact Zungu could have on proceedings.
“Bongani is a very good player and we all know that he’s very good, so he will add value to AmaZulu. I think we need to be aware and ready for anything because we don’t know how much of a contribution he will be asked to make but he’s very good and we know what he can do on the day,” he said.
Title-chasing Sundowns have begun life under new coach Miguel Cardoso in good fashion with two wins over Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League as well as a formidable Stellenbosch side in the Betway Premiership, respectively.
The Brazilians will be expected to arrive in Durban with bags of confidence having also returned to the summit on the league standings and now have a three point lead over Orlando Pirates, albeit having played a game more.
AmaZulu – in 13th place – themselves have had an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks with the arrival of coaches Arthur Zwane and Vusumuzi Vilakazi.
Usuthu are looking to make it an impressive four wins in their last four outings in the league and edge closer to a top eight spot rather than get embroiled in relegation battle for the third season running.
Mkhulise complimented Usuthu’s displays this season as well as their players and stated that he and his teammates expected a tough test.
“We are expecting a difficult game because they want points and they’re playing at home so it’s going to be tough against them. Plus, they have very good players and they’ve been playing well but sometimes not getting the deserved result but otherwise they have a very good team.”
The head to head stats don’t read very well for the hosts ahead of this game as, unsurprisingly, Sundowns have dominated this fixture for years. AmaZulu have won just one, drawn two and lost seven of the last ten games against Sundowns in all competitions.
The last time they beat the Brazilians was when they finished second in the league in 2021 under Benni McCarthy.