An erstwhile Orlando Pirates hitman who used to ripple the Mamelodi Sundowns net for fun has made a bold prediction about his former side's encounter against a team whose roots are entrenched in his place of birth.
Pirates are aiming to cut down a humongous 18-point gap between them and the defending champions, although still with four games in hand, as the two giants meet at FNB Stadium on Sunday (15:30).
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"There is no way we are losing this one, as I will be there in person," affirms Thulasizwe Mbuyane.
"The club has just called me to collect my tickets, so we will be 'Juju-dancing' on Sundowns.
In their last meeting in February, the Tshwane outfit dominated Bucs at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, embarrassing them 4-1.
"In that game, the Pirates players didn't perform well. I don't know if it was due to the slippery pitch, but every Pirates player seemed to slip.
"Typically, before a match, we would take a walk on the pitch to get a feel for it and assess the conditions. After that, we would return to the dressing room to put on appropriate soccer boots for the pitch conditions that day.
"Then we'd go back to the pitch for warm-ups, double-checking that our boots were suitable for the grass. I think the Pirates players were simply too careless.
"Sunday's game will reveal whether we deserve to compete for the league title. It will determine if our players are ready for such challenges.
"If the Pirates players can perform well and maintain their momentum, I don't see us faltering. To avoid pressure, we need to win our own games," he went on.
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'Juju' says it is of no benefit to the side playing out of their skin against Sundowns, only to drop points against the so-called smaller teams.
"The loss against Marumo Gallants was disappointing. We should have used those points to push ourselves up the table.
"There are matches where the Pirates players perform well, but then there are games where it feels like they are dragging their feet."