AmaZulu mentor Arthur Zwane has suggested that his side will be the underdogs when they face provincial foes Golden Arrows at Moses Mabhida Stadium tonight, albeit he expects “fireworks”.
Fourth-placed Usuthu are pushing to displace Kaizer Chiefs from third spot to qualify for CAF Confederation Cup next season, while Arrows, who are eighth on the table, aim to cement their berth to play in the MTN8 next term.
“They [Arrows] are one of the best teams in the country in terms of display. They have a top technical team [led by multi-league winner Manqoba Mngqithi] in terms of experience,” Zwane said.
“They are coming into this game having an upper hand regardless of our last game [where they came from a goal down to thump relegation candidates Chippa United 5-1 at home], where we scored five goals here [at Moses Mabhida Stadium]. They will always have that upper hand.”
Why does Zwane feel this KZN derby will be exhilarating? “They want to consolidate their position in the top eight and we want to consolidate our position in the top four, so it’s going to be, probably after a long time, a derby that will produce fireworks. Why? Because we are both playing to consolidate our positions,” Zwane stated, adding that they want to play continental football next season.
“We really want to go to Africa, especially because the players have worked very hard this season...they deserve something. Africa would test these players differently...it would help them to grow quicker in terms of understanding the game.”
Fixtures (All midweek fixtures will start at 7.30pm)
Today: Sundowns v Chiefs, Loftus Versfeld; AmaZulu v Arrows, Moses Mabhida; Gallants v Galaxy, Petrus Molemela; Bay v Polokwane, Richards Bay
Saturday: Gallants v Bay, Petrus Molemela (3pm); Orbit v AmaZulu, Olympia Park (3pm); Galaxy v Chippa, Mbombela (3pm); Arrows v Polokwane, King Zwelithini (5.30pm); Sundowns v Siwelele, Lucas Moripe (5.30pm); Magesi v Pirates, Peter Mokaba (8pm)
Sunday: Sekhukhune v Chiefs, Peter Mokaba (5.30pm).
Sowetan
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