Kaizer Chiefs captain firmly believes his side can beat Mamelodi Sundowns in their PSL clash on Saturday - 'We are also a big team'

Kaizer Chiefs recently suffered a 4-1 league defeat to SuperSport United and have since had a 10-day break before their upcoming clash against Mamelodi Sundowns.

During this period, Sundowns eased to victories over TS Galaxy and Sekhukhune United.

To prepare for the clash against the defending champions, Chiefs organized a team-building session where captain Yusuf Maart addressed the media, expressing confidence in the team's readiness to face the league leaders and halt their dominance.

He emphasized the importance of a strong mentality and believes Chiefs can secure a positive result against Miguel Cardoso's side.

“This is a good team-building exercise...we are bonding as brothers and enjoying driving these fast cars," he said shortly after a fast lap in a Toyota GR86.

"It was a good decision from management to take us out to get our minds off things ahead of a very big game against Sundowns,'' Maart said as reported by Sowetan.

“It's possible to beat Sundowns. We are also a big team, so we must take that mentality into the game on Saturday. We create a lot of chances and that shows that we're not playing badly, so we are really confident that we can get something on Saturday," the Chiefs skipper added.

“In football there are no favours at all. We are playing for our own objectives as we are running our own race. We need points for ourselves at the end of the day, so we can't be thinking about other teams," Maart said.

Kaizer Chiefs' last victory over Mamelodi Sundowns was in April 2021, with goals from Dumisani Zuma and an own goal by Mosa Lebusa, while Gaston Sirino scored for Sundowns. Notably, Sirino has since joined Chiefs but will not participate in the upcoming game as he is suspended.

This season, Sundowns have already defeated Nasreddine Nabi's side twice, once in the league and once in a cup competition. The upcoming match presents an opportunity for Chiefs to break this pattern and assert themselves against the league leaders.

A win would boost both team and fan morale and improve their standing on the league table.

After the Sundowns test, Chiefs have a league date with the relegation-threatened Magesi FC.

They will be hoping to find some consistency and form in those two matches as their next assignment is in the only remaining competition where they can realistically end their near decade-long trophy drought: the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal against Stellenbosch.
After that it's PSL assignments against Cape Town City and Richards Bay before the Fifa international break.