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Cape Town - The University of Pretoria will be looking to continue their good run of pre-Christmas form when they host Chippa United on Tuesday night in Pretoria.
Read: Tuks, Chippa set for battle
AmaTuks ended 2014 in 12th position in the Premiership standings after going on a four-match unbeaten run to move clear of the relegation zone.
The Tshwane side, who saw head coach Steve Barker leave the club for AmaZulu in December, will be determined to try and get all three points against Chippa as they look to improve on a poor home record which has yielded just six points from eight games this season.
While the club will have been boosted with the news that striker Thabo Mnyamane received the Absa Premiership Player of the Month award for his performances in November and December last year, the bad news is that he will be suspended for Tuesday’s game.
Mnyamane netted an impressive five goals in eight games over two months, and with the able assistance he has been receiving from fellow front-man Geoffrey Massa (six in 16 games), goals have been increasingly easy to come by for Sammy Troughton’s side.
Tuks can also take confidence from their first-round win over Chippa, a 2-1 victory away in Port Elizabeth.
The Chilli Boys head into Tuesday’s game in eighth position in the table, but are currently in the middle of a slump after failing to win in their previous five league matches.
The Eastern Cape side must also face the rest of the season without David Zulu, after their leading marksman joined Kaizer Chiefs in the January transfer window.
Newly appointed head coach Ernst Middendorp, who has drafted in a couple of new players such as Ruben Cloete (ex Bloemfontein Celtic) and Kristopher Bergman (Cape Town All Stars), will be under pressure to get the side back to winning ways, with the Chippa management notorious for their impatience with their coaches.
Kick-off is at 19:30.
