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“Mamelodi Sundowns had an excellent season and finished second in the league. It will be a nice challenge for the young players in the team to face Sundowns,” said the Serbian coach at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“We played to a draw against Sundowns in our first league game against them (2-2 in October 2009). The second game was at home for us, in Durban, and we lost 2-1. Now it is our turn to win.”
The two sides are missing a combined 11 players who are away with Bafana Bafana on their Brazilian training camp, yet there will still be an array of top class talent on display when the teams meet in Atteridgeville this weekend.
Chiefs will welcome back Tinashe Nengomasha and Valery Nahayo, who both missed the penalty win over Santos in the first round, but centre-back Thomas Sweswe is still injured.
With Dominic Isaacs having given a Man of the Match performance against the People’s Team, Thabang Rooi could well be the man who makes way for Nahayo to return. Yet, with Vermezovic keen to give his younger players more exposure, he may well decide to retain the starting XI from the first round.
“I am completely satisfied with the game in Cape Town,” said Vermezovic, who then added that midfielder Gerald Sibeko will miss the game due to injury.
Sundowns find themselves in the last eight after a dramatic 4-3 win over Free State Stars this past weekend. Coach Trott Moloto, like his counterpart at the Amakhosi, took the opportunity to field fringe players in the absence of key men who are campaigning in South America with the national team.
And he was not disappointed, with Benedict Vilakazi (who spent most of this season on the bench under former coach Hristo Stoichkov) scoring two goals and striking up a good synergy with Mabhuti Khenyeza that could cause Chiefs all kinds of trouble this Sunday.
“In the last game against Free State Stars the players acquitted themselves well,” said Moloto at the press conference.
“Maybe it is a blessing in disguise to play Kaizer Chiefs. Whenever you play a team like them it is always in the minds of the players to perform above expectations. It’s going to be a tough but interesting game.”
Sundowns have only one injury concern, but it’s a big one: dynamic midfielder Esrom Nyandoro is a doubt for the crunch match.
“We are hoping Esrom can pass a fitness test later this (Thursday) afternoon. The medical people will advise us today as to whether he will be fit to play or not,” said Moloto.
