Richards Bay out to end Sundowns hoodoo

Richards Bay will be targeting their first-ever victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in Saturday's Betway Premiership encounter at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium.

Kick-off is at 3:30 pm CAT.

CURRENT FORM

The Natal Rich Boys breathed a sigh of relief after securing a 1-0 victory over Golden Arrows on 21 December as they snapped an eight-match winless run across all competitions in regulation time.

Richards Bay are placed 15th in the Betway Premiership standings - three points behind 10th-placed Cape Town City and a win over Sundowns would see the KwaZulu-Natal climb out of the relegation zone if other results go their way.

Meanwhile, Sundowns are enjoying a six-match unbeaten run across all competitions having secured a 1-0 victory over AmaZulu FC on 24 December having registered four wins and two draws.

Masandawana are sitting at the top of the Betway Premiership standings - three points above second-placed Orlando Pirates who have a game in hand and a win over Richards Bay will consolidate the Tshwane giants' lead.

TEAM NEWS

Richards Bay have no suspension concerns coming into this match, but the club has parted ways with Siyethemba Sithebe and Mamelodi Sundowns loanee Thabang Sibanyoni.

Sundowns, on the other hand, will be without the suspended duo of Khuliso Mudau and Ronwen Williams, while ⁠Themba Zwane, Siyabonga Mabena, ⁠Rivaldo Coetzee, ⁠Mothobi Mvala, ⁠Grant Kekana, ⁠Marcelo Allende, Mosa Lebusa and Reyaad Pieterse are on the club's injury list.

WHAT WAS SAID?

Richards Bay's interim head coach Ronnie Gabriel

"Ideally, we would have wanted it (Christmas break) to be that way but I'm sure you'll see the way the fixtures are set and certain times it's congested and then the other times you got longer breaks in between games,” Gabriel said.

“These things affect performances as well you cannot take that away but however we've got to work with whatever is put in front of us and prepare the team adequately for a victory.”

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso

“It was a tough match [against AmaZulu]. I was not happy with the rhythm we had in the first half. Our ball circulation was too slow. We needed to improve our tempo and that’s why we made three substitutions at halftime to inject more energy into the game," Cardoso said.

“We created several scoring opportunities throughout the match. I knew we had players capable of making a significant impact. The introduction of Letlhaku Kutlwano, Peter Shalulile, and Thapelo Morena certainly added a spark."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Yanela Mbuthuma, Richards Bay: The 22-year-old striker is in good form having provided the assist for the winning goal against Golden Arrows and prior to that he had two goals in three matches for the Natal Rich Boys.

Iqraan Rayners, Mamelodi Sundowns: The 29-year-old striker is in scintillating form having scored in seven consecutive competitive matches including winning goals against Raja Casablanca, Stellenbosch FC and AmaZulu FC.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

LAST 10 LEAGUE RESULTS

Season Result Scorers

2022/23 Bay 0-2 Sundowns Mailula, Domingo

2022/23 Sundowns 1-0 Bay Morena

2023/24 Bay 0-1 Sundowns Mendieta

2023/24 Sundowns 1-0 Bay Mendieta

LEAGUE RECORD (since 2022/23)

Home

P W D L GF GA

Bay 2 0 0 2 0 3

Sundowns 2 2 0 0 2 0

Away

P W D L GF GA

Bay 2 0 0 2 0 2

Sundowns 2 2 0 0 3 0

Total

P W D L GF GA

Bay 4 0 0 4 0 5

Sundowns 4 4 0 0 5 0