UNDER PRESSURE . . . Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane
.
MAMELODI Sundowns won’t slip up in the Absa Premiership title race.
This was the bold declaration by coach Pitso Mosimane,
who explained that the 2016 Caf Champions League campaign won’t derail his
charges in the domestic season.
While their opponents are dropping points in the
championship race, the Brazilians are in top form.
They visit Free State Stars at the James Motlatsi
Stadium today (3.30pm), looking to extend their unbeaten run in the league to 14
games.
They crushed Chippa United 3-0 on Tuesday and are
expected to continue from where they left off against Ea Lla Koto.
The Brazilians are on top of the table with 39 points
from 17 matches.
On Saturday their Champions League starts with an away
trip to Chicken Inn of Zimbabwe in Harare.
Mosimane said he will rotate his squad to cope with
their African mission.
In the game against the Chilli Boys, new faces such as
Lebogang Mokoena, Tiyani Mabunda, were given a run.
Ea Lla Koto has already played with Pretoria teams away
from home twice.
They lost 1-0 to SuperSport United and recovered from
two goals down to force a 2-2 draw with University of Pretoria midweek.
The Brazilians registered a 3-1 victory over Ea Lla Koto
in Atteridgeville in the first round.
They also put Ea Lla Koto to the sword with a 6-1
drubbing on their way to winning the Telkom Knockout title in December.
The Brazilians have scored nine goals and conceded twice
against Ea Lla Koto in their two meetings so far in the season.
Mosimane said: “We will introduce new faces in the
coming games to refresh the team.
“Mogakolodi Ngele is one other player we’re hoping to
use against Stars.
“Mabunda will also get more game time. Our players are hungry and we won’t allow complacency to creep in.
We won’t be distracted in the league,” he said.
Mosimane told SunSport Chicken Inn are taking his side
to a different environment in the form of an unusual pitch.
“It’s tough in Africa, I don’t know about that pitch,
but we have to adapt to the conditions,” he said.
