23 January 2008

Preview: Kaizer Chiefs vs Maritzburg United
Date: 24 January
Time: 15H30
Venue: Olympia Park Stadium, Rustenburg



The relentless PSL schedule see Maritzburg United facing an on-form Kaizer Chiefs at the Olympia park Stadium on Saturday afternoon. (3.30PM kick off, live on SABC)

The elation of scoring an emphatic 2-0 win over Ajax Cape Town unfortunately gave way to the disappointment of going down 3-1 to SuperSport United on Wednesday night.

United must now regroup as they square up to a Choefs side who have been in form of late, beating Mamelodi Sundowns and Thanda Royal Zulu in their last two games and climbing up to fifth position in the process.

Having played themselves into a title-challenging position, the pressure will now firmly be on Amakhosi, whose demanding fans will be expecting nothing less than a win.

This can work to Maritzburg's advantage - a few errors from Chiefs can often result in the crowd quickly turning against their own players.

The Team of Chocie can of course also take heart from their magnificent first round result against Chiefs, which resulted in a 3-2 win at the Chatsworth Stadium. Sipho Mngomezulu, Bryce Aka and Fadlu Davids were on target for Maritzburg in that game.

The good news as far as the team is concerned: Fadlu Davids and Fanyana Dhladhla are again eligible for selection after having being suspended.

The bad news though is that right back Peter Petersen will sit this game out due to having accumulated three yellow cards.

Chiefs are also hit by suspension: midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane and defender Mokete Tsotetsi are both out.

The Amakhosi have also recently loaned out playmaker Gert Schalkwyk to Bloem Celtic, but in former Golden Arrows creative midfielder Abia Nale, they have a more than adequate replacement.

Up front, Zito Ogbonna and Jose Torrealba will need to be carefully monitored, as will the likes of Arthur Zwane, David Mathebula and Simphiwe Tshabalala in midfield.