Golden Arrows will be seeking their maiden win over Royal AM when the two teams clash at the Princess Magogo Stadium in the DStv Premiership on Saturday afternoon.
Kick-off is at 3.30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Abafana Bes'thende suffered a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture at the Chatsworth Stadium on 25 October, with the Durban derby spoils having been shared last season following two draws.
Vusumuzi Vilakazi's side were on the end of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of TS Galaxy last Sunday, which was their third loss in five games this year and left them four points clear of the bottom two in 11th place.
After their impressive fightback against Marumo Gallants four days prior to come away 3-2 victors, Vilakazi admitted that a lack of concentration was still prevalent in the team and the Rockets made them pay dearly.
"I think we still have one and the same problem... we are still lacking that concentration in terms of making sure the opponents are not coming back," he said.
Thwihli Thwahla welcomed back a familiar face this week with the announcement that John Maduka has been re-appointed as head coach in a bid to turn the club's ailing fortunes around.
Maduka made a surprise departure at the end of last season despite guiding the Durban outfit to an impressive third-placed finish on their top-flight debut.
However, he has been brought back to steady the ship after a 2-0 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs last Sunday extended their winless streak in the league to three games and saw them slip to 12th position, just three points above the relegation zone.
The club have yet to confirm what role Abram Nteo will play following the return of Maduka but the former head coach acknowledged performances have not been good enough of late.
"From the beginning of the game you could see that Chiefs wanted it more. In the first 15 minutes Chiefs were putting pressure on us, pressing us high," Nteo said.
"But look, we tried, especially in the first half to play the way we want but you could see some of the passes they didn't connect well and our marking again was so bad so we couldn't play the way we're used to. It's something that we'll go and rectify but I'm not happy with the way we played in the second half."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Golden Arrows
Sifiso Mlungwana: All eyes will be on the 25-year-old goalkeeper after his nightmare performance against TS Galaxy. Granted the wet conditions were hardly ideal but Mlungwana certainly didn't cover himself in glory, having seen the woodwork come to his rescue on 19 minutes when he spilt the ball under minimal pressure before being clearly at fault for the first two goals.
Ryan Moon:The 26-year-old striker will be pushing for only his seventh start of the season after a lively display off the bench against the Rockets. Arrows had offered very little in attack during the first half but Moon threatened to pull one back just six minutes after his introduction at the start of the second half with a half-volley that was tipped over the crossbar by Vasilije Kolak.
Royal AM
Mfundo Thikazi: The 23-year-old midfielder will be disappointed with his display against Chiefs, having gotten himself into good positions twice in the first half but failing to hit the target. Thikazi will be hoping to have done enough to earn a fifth start of the season against Arrows, with his pace having caused the Glamour Boys numerous problems.
Motebang Sera: The 27-year-old Lesotho striker only made the bench for the clash with Abafana Bes'thende but he'll be keen to impress Maduka in training to earn a recall to the starting line-up. Sera was on target in his previous start against Chippa United, which took his tally for the season to four goals from nine appearances.