Msimango warns Downs not to underrate Chiefs

As many tip Mamelodi Sundowns to make light work of Kaizer Chiefs when the two sides face off at FNB Stadium tonight (7.30pm), Amakhosi’s Given Msimango has warned the Brazilians against thinking it'll be easy.

“We will make the game as competitive as possible. We are not too focused on Sundowns because here the most important thing is to get maximum points for our club.

"We will try to control what happens on the pitch and ignore everything else...take it as a background noise [referring to Sundowns’ title talks],” Msimango said.

Chiefs will be without Msimango’s usual central defence partner Edmilson Dove, who’s suspended. Msimango initially didn't know that his partner was suspended, ending up downplaying his unavailability by saying Amakhosi have capable centre-backs to plug the gap.

Zitha Kwinika is likely to partner with Msimango at the heart of Amakhosi defence in Dove’s absence.

“I wasn’t aware that Dove is suspended but we have competent individuals here at Chiefs. Whoever slots in will be capable to do the job. Even if I were to be the one out, my replacement would do a good job, so I am not really concerned about that [Dove’s unavailability],” Msimango stated.

Chiefs head into this game off the back of a 2-1 win over Sundowns’ Tshwane rivals, SuperSport United, last Saturday. The win ended Chiefs’ five-game winless streak that consisted of three successive defeats in their previous three outings.

Msimango admitted the SuperSport win aided their morale heading into tonight’s clash. ”Of course, the team has gone through a bad run, struggling to win even though our performances had been up to par.

"The win against SuperSport just reassured us of what we are capable of...it was a good confidence booster and a much-needed win for us and for our supporters,” Msimango said.

Meanwhile, Amakhosi interim coach Cavin Johnson also weighed in on tonight’s fixture, saying he expects a tough encounter albeit he banks on the homework they did on Sundowns.

“I think it is going to be a very tough game for both teams. I hope that whatever analysis that we do we will be able to nullify and win the game because it is our home game,” Johnson said.