Cape Town — Kaizer Chiefs will look to continue their new-found momentum when they host Cape Town City at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Chiefs have been a revitalized side in recent weeks, having finally been able to transfer coach Stuart Baxter's training ground instructions to their matches. An indifferent start to the season has been put behind them and the Amakhosi have now won four of their last five matches.
This upsurge in results has seen Chiefs sky-rocket up the league table into second place. However, the stumble out of the blocks has left them with plenty of work if they harbour any ambitions of chasing down league-leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
The four-times successive champions have an eight-point advantage, with a game in hand, over their nearest rivals. Sundowns can even afford a couple of slip ups and they will still be in a commanding position, although the Brazilians do face a hectic run of fixtures over the coming weeks.
Chiefs, and the rest of the chasing pack, will hope that Sundowns' fixture congestion could provide some form of hope in their bid to close the gap.
Baxter will, though, know that regardless of how Sundowns perform in their matches, it is his team that will need to take care of their own business if they are to stand the slimmest of chances.
The Amakhosi have the playing personnel to mount a title challenge, particularly now that new acquisitions such as Keagan Dolly and Cole Alexander have been blended into the squad with regulars such as Khama Billiat and Bernard Parker.
Alexander won't though be available for the clash against City due him still having to serve the last of his two-game ban following his red card against AmaZulu last week.
But Chiefs will at least be able to welcome back the highly-talented youngster Njabulo Blom from suspension.
City will hope to fulfil their own desires at Soccer City, especially since they suffering a three-game winless streak that has seen Eric Tinkler's team drop out of the top eight.
They are a certainly a better team than their log position suggests, and Chiefs will know that, after the Citizens pushed Sundowns to the wire in both the MTN8 final and league contests recently.
Equally, the Chiefs and City have enjoyed battle royales over the years, especially during the early period after the Cape Town club was launched in 2016.
The Amakhosi have dominated the recent encounters though with Chiefs having won eight out of the 14 clashes, while City have triumphed in four. There were two draws.
Baxter will be hoping it's No 15 on Saturday evening at the former 2010 World Cup final venue if Chiefs are serious about hunting down Sundowns.
IOL Sport