KAIZER Chiefs face an acid test when they meet high-flying Swallows FC in the DStv Premiership Soweto derby at Dobsonville Stadium on Tuesday night (7.30pm).
Amakhosi are hoping to improve their position on the league table since they are in an unfamiliar 11th spot on five points from four matches.
Chiefs have won only one league match so far and drawn twice with one loss.
Victory came at the expense of Chippa United on 27 October via an own goal by Gregory Damons.
In fact, Gavin Hunt’s attack has been rusty since the team only managed to get their first goals at the weekend via the boot of Leonardo Castro, when they drew 2-2 with Golden Arrows in Durban.
But whether Castro will be able to breach the solid Swallows defence, strengthened by the signing of Bafana Bafana left-back Sifiso Hlanti, remains to be seen.
The Birds have the best defence in the league so far, having conceded just one goal against Stellenbosch in their 1-1 draw played in Cape Town on 25 October.
On the other hand, Swallows are aiming to return to the top of table having tasted the summit for a few hours following a goalless draw with fellow PSL rookies, TS Galaxy, on Saturday.
Their joy was short-lived as Mamelodi Sundowns returned to the top on Sunday following a 4-3 win over AmaZulu at Loftus.
Swallows captain Lebohang “Cheeseboy” Mokoena said it would be suicidal to undermine the sleeping giants.
“This will be a tough game. Chiefs want to get a win to boost their confidence and we can’t underestimate them.
“We should stop them from creating crosses and guard against the second ball. They’re also deadly on set-piece, so we need to be prepared for anything they will throw on us,” said Mokoena.
The fact that Swallows failed to find the back of the net against Galaxy doesn’t bother the former Orlando Pirates winger.
“We scored in our last three games. It’s only against Galaxy that we couldn’t find the back of net. We created chances but couldn’t finish them,” he added.
“I’m happy we didn’t concede. Credit should go to our goalkeeper (Virgil Vries) and the defence. In fact, the whole team did well in our past four games.”
