Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Sibusiso Vilakazi has singled out two players they will have to keep a close eye on when they face rivals Orlando Pirates in a Premier Soccer League fixture on Friday.
The Brazilians will put their 16-match unbeaten start to the season at stake when they host the Buccaneers at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
While Masandawana are on a three-match winning run having defeated Royal AM 3-2, SuperSport United 1-0, and Baroka FC 2-1, the Buccaneers have one win and two draws from their last three outings.
Ahead of the game, Vilakazi has highlighted the threats posed by Pirates’ Bandile Shandu and Deon Hotto and urged his teammates to look after them.
'We have to look after them'
“[They have] Bandile Shandu trying to come up as a defender and trying to get into a good goalscoring opportunity. I think he had two back-to-back games where he scored so we have to look after him as he is a threat and there is [Deon] Hotto as well,” Vilakazi told the club’s official website.
“[These are] people that are scoring goals consistently in back to back games, we have to look after those people, but not only them because for them to get into those positions it starts from the back with the four at the back which have been consistent for the last three games.
Backpagepix“Even in the midfield [Fortune] Makaringe, Ben [Motshwari] and [Thabang] Monare have been consistent in starting games. There hasn’t been that much rotation in their starting line-up, it’s a consistent team that has been giving them rewards and has been giving them momentum of winning games.
“It’s the whole team that’s on the pitch that we have to look after, everybody has their own strong point.”
On Sundown's good run this season, Vilakazi said: “Expectations are very high, the mood is very high and preparations have been really good in a short space of time.
'Sundowns will need big personalities'
“We just switched from that mode of having won a very tough game against Baroka and switched into another game that is very, very important for us.
“We are playing against a team that has good momentum and we are looking forward to a big contest that needs big personalities on the field, but not only on the field but training as well has been amazing.
backpagepix“Everyone is starting to raise their hands, everybody is ready to perform. We are looking solid, we can’t wait to step on that field to make our fans happy, to make the team and ourselves happy.
“We will try by all means to get in there on the day and try to give it our best performance of the day which is to get a positive outcome. It won’t be easy, but we always strive in these situations of the not easy part to get ahead.”
Vilakazi, however, admitted they will face a tough game against Pirates.
“We are expecting a very, very tough game. Of course, they will want to improve on their performance that they played against Swallows which they felt that they should’ve had maximum points after going ahead and then finding themselves sharing the point,” Vilakazi continued.
“So of course with that, they will want to improve and step it up a little and try to get maximum points when they play against us at home. With the games that they’ve played they’ve been good, I think they’ve had wins and quite a few stumbling blocks where they’ve had draws [but they are] a side that has momentum.”
