Photo Credit - Mamelodi Sundowns.
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso believes their fixture against rivals Orlando Pirates will not determine who wins the Betway Premiership title at the end of the season.
The South African league will heat up with a blockbuster clash on Saturday when Pirates visit Sundowns at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The top-notch encounter between the Gauteng rivals is undoubtedly the headlining act in the weekend’s football action.
Six points currently separate the two sides at the league table with the Buccaneers going into the fixture with a game in hand, and the gap in points could be halved by the end of the weekend should things go in their favour in Tshwane.
However, according to Cardoso, the fixture will not close or open the championship’ race but will keep it open until the end of the season.
“We need to study well the approach we are going to have. It’s just another match of football, and whatever happens, it’s just three points, and whatever happens, won’t close or open the championship. It will keep it open until the end of the season for sure,” Cardoso told the media ahead of the game as quoted by FARPost.
“What I need is to understand how we need to approach the game. And that is the most important message we need to pass on to our players. These are two different teams with different qualities, but two teams that want to win for sure, and that’s the most exciting part.”
He concluded: “I believe that the match will have different moments. And I hope it will have good flashes to the world about South African football.”
In games played in the country’s capital, the Brazilians have enjoyed a slight edge in the past decade winning eight of the 20 fixtures while the Buccaneers boast six wins with the other six matches finishing level.
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