Sipho Mbule of Supersport United celebrates a goal during the DStv Premiership 2021/22 football match against and Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria in August. Picture: Gavin Barker, BackpagePix
SUPERSPORT United will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the DSTV Premiership after making a steady start to the new season.
Matsatsantsa drew their season opener 0-0 with Cape Town City before winning their last fixture 3-1 against Golden Arrows.
They will be up against an out-of-form Usuthu side which has failed to win any of their four competitive games in all competitions this season. Benni McCarthy’s side have also lost three out of their four games this season.
The Durban based club’s most recent defeat was when they were beaten 3-1 in their first ever CAF Champions League game by Malawian side Nyasa Big Bullets on Friday.
Benni McCarthy will be under pressure to now record a first victory of the season for his club and based on his history, one will expect his side to once again utilize attacking and positive tactics.
This is something that could potentially backfire as has happened in Usuthu’s recent games. SuperSport’s attacking players such as Sipho Mbule, Bradley Grobler and Thamsanqa Gabuza will punish the AmaZulu defence if it is caught ball watching.
Meanwhile, another area of concern for AmaZulu that SuperSport can exploit is their lack of finesse in the final third. AmaZulu have so far scored just one goal all season and appear to have been severely hampered in attack without the presence of the injured Augustine Mulenga.
The team’s last met in the Premiership in March with AmaZulu winning the game 1-0, but neither side has completely dominated the other historically as SuperSport have beaten AmaZulu 11 times while AmaZulu have beaten SuperSport nine times.