United will take on defending champions Kaizer Chiefs in the season-opener at FNB Stadium on August 5.
Ncikazi assisted Komphela at the Team of Choice last term, but was promoted to the hotseat following the latter's switch to Amakhosi in June.
Zuma suspects the former colleagues would have preferred to first face each other in the League.
“I don’t think both Mandla Ncikazi and Steve Komphela would have wished to meet this early in a war,” Zuma told his club's website.
“As fate would have it, that’s the way it is. I’m sure if the first encounter was a League battle, there would be less tension. Worse still Chiefs are the defending Champions of the MTN8.
“The interest is not so much on the teams per se, but how the former colleagues will fare against each other. I know it’s still fresh in everyone’s memory that 'Bra Steve' crossed the floor from the capital city of KZN where he was head coach assisted by Ncikazi, to Naturena. It is an open secret that the two were very close and that they worked very well together.
“On the 5th of August it will be a different ball game altogether, where 'friends become foes' so to speak, albeit for 90 minutes. I’m sure punters will put their money on Steve for a number of reasons, but I have decided to make it my duty to warn people not to underestimate what MUFC has to offer.
“The pressure will be on Chiefs a defending champions which means we have very little to lose, if anything. Mandla is a smart coach and obviously understands Steve’s approach and philosophy. Brace yourselves for a ferocious Team of Choice on the day.”