The Team of Choice take on Bakgaga in an Absa Premiership encounter at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Sunday 26 January, with kick off set for 3.30pm.
Last week’s home 1-0 victory over AmaZulu left United in sixth spot on the standings, while Baroka are 13th, having lost by the same scoreline to Stellenbosch FC in their previous game.
While Maritzburg have won two and drawn three of their last five league encounters, the Limpopo club have lost four and won one.
In the first round showdown between Sunday’s opponents, the Team of Choice edged a 1-0 win at the Harry Gwala Stadium, and overall they have won five and lost one of the seven matches played against Baroka.
However, with Bakgaga looking to try and steer clear of the relegation zone, coach Eric has cautioned his men that they will need to be fully focused, committed and up for the battle.
“There are no easy matches, especially the teams who are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the league,” he said.
“Baroka have shown that they are a very good team – they started off the season very well, I thought they were well structured when we played them at home and it was very difficult to get a result against them.
“It’s going to be the same again – with the only difference being that they will be a lot hungrier than when we played them in the first round. So we’ve got to prepare ourselves physically and mentally for what is going to be a very tough match.
“We’ve got to look to go there and play positive football, play without fear and try and have that psychological edge which we have over them work in our favour.”
There is some positive team news for Maritzburg in that long-term injury victims Siyanda Xulu and Phumlani Ntshangase both featured in a friendly match this week and could potentially come into contention for selection.
There are no suspensions, although there are slight injury concerns for Micah Lea’alafa and Bongokuhle Hlongwane.
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