By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Mamelodi Sundowns have announced that their DStv Premiership clash with Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday afternoon at the Lucas Moripe Stadium is sold out.
“We encourage all ticket holders to arrive at the stadium as early as possible. No tickets will be sold at the stadium,” said the club in a statement.
The game is being played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville after a last-minute change of venue by the Premier Soccer League. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Loftus Stadium, which has a larger capacity than the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Sundowns come into the match having opened the defence of their DStv Premiership title with a hard-fought 2-1 win away to Sekhukhune United on Friday evening. Goals from Peter Shalulile and Lucas Costa were enough for ‘Downs to bag maximum points, despite Jamie Webber pulling one back for the hosts on the hour mark. The opening match of the new season also saw Vusimusi Mncube and Rivaldo Coetzee sent for early showers, as both teams ended with 10 men.
Chiefs, meanwhile, were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Chippa United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday afternoon. In the Amakhosi’s first match under new coach Molefi Ntseki, they struggled to find an attacking rhythm, too often giving the ball away cheaply and lacking the sharpness to unlock the Chilli Boys’ deep-lying defence. A clean sheet and a point on the board is far from a terrible start, but it will reflect as a poor result if they follow it up by falling to the champions.
In head-to-head stats, Sundowns and Chiefs have met in 76 league matches dating back as far as 1985. The Amakhosi have claimed 29 wins compared to 26 for the Brazilians, while 21 games have ended in draws. The Tshwane side’s home record in the rivalry reads P38 W17 D9 L12.
The teams’ league meetings last season saw Sundowns record a ‘double’ over Chiefs, with a 4-0 home win (goals from Gaston Sirino, Peter Shalulile [two] and Abubeker Nasir) in August 2022 and 1-0 away win (Neo Maema with the only goal) in January of this year.