Cape Town - New SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler is bracing for a tough opening to the 2017/18 campaign which includes consecutive games against Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Amakhosi again.
United face the Glamour Boys in an MTN8 quarter-final on Sunday, August 12 at Moses Mabhida Stadium, before a home match in the Premiership against Sundowns seven days later.
Four days thereafter, Matsatsantsa take on the Glamour Boys in the league at FNB Stadium.
In addition, SuperSport have two tough Confederations Cup clashes against Zesco United to follow the opening three matches of the domestic season.
As such, Tinkler is under no illusions about the task facing his side.
"I've got five massive games to start and every single one is hugely important to us. We go Chiefs‚ Sundowns‚ Chiefs‚ Zesco‚ Zesco," he told the SowetanLIVE website.
"After that we could be in the MTN8 and Confederation Cup semifinals‚ and top of the league‚ or we could be out of a couple of competitions and struggling.
"So they are huge games for us and we have to do everything we can to prepare well‚ on and off the pitch‚ and make sure we are ready."