Cardoso still taking it one game at a time in title race

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso insists there will be no premature title celebrations as he focuses on the clash with Stellenbosch at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Sunday, May 11.

Kick-off is at 8pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM:

Bafana ba Style need just four points from their remaining three matches to claim a record eighth straight league crown after beating Chippa United 3-0 in midweek.

A third win in the space of eight days has kept Cardoso's side 12 points clear of Orlando Pirates at the summit and they could be confirmed champions before their final fixture against Magesi on May 17.

However, the Maroons will prove a stern challenge as they've already gotten the better of Masandawana twice this season, winning 1-0 in both legs of the MTN 8 semifinals.

Their last two top-flight meetings have also been decided by a single goal, with Sundowns emerging narrow 1-0 victors in the reverse fixture on December 18 and winning by the same scoreline on their last trip to the Western Cape almost exactly a year ago.

Steve Barker's side are chasing African football for a second consecutive campaign as they battle it out with Sekhukhune United for the CAF Confederation Cup berth.

Stellies have built up a head of steam after they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Golden Arrows on May 3 to make it four wins from their last five outings to keep the pressure on Babina Noko, who currently occupy third spot.

The two teams are separated by just one point and one place in the table, although the Cape Winelands outfit have a game in hand on their top-three rivals.

WHAT WAS SAID:

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso

"We need to focus on the next match, like the previous ones, fight to win and collect the three points because we know our opponent (Orlando Pirates) won't play at the weekend because they will be participating in the Nedbank Cup final.

"And then we have to play again on Wednesday and we will try our best to collect as many points until mathematically it is done and then we will think about celebrating. Until then, I will not allow everyone to celebrate. We just celebrated today's victory, nothing more, then we go for the next one."

Stellenbosch head coach Steve Barker

"[Sundowns are] one of the best teams, if not the best team in Africa. So, we know that whenever we play Sundowns, we have to be at our best, tactically, technically. You have to execute your game plan really well but even if you do that, they've got individual brilliance all around.

"So, a tough game but we aim to be competitive against Sundowns. We've also got to believe that we can go there and we can get a result if we want to show that we also want to slowly become a team that's challenging for league titles, being consistently good on the continent.

"So, it's this type of team like Sundowns that is a good benchmark to see where we are."

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Mamelodi Sundowns - Iqraam Rayners has enjoyed a productive first season at Chloorkop to help the Brazilians move to the brink of yet another title. The 29-year-old striker has scored his goals in spurts and he broke the deadlock against the Chilli Boys last time out to take his tally for the season to 12, placing him one behind teammate Lucas Ribeiro in the race for the Golden Boot.

Stellenbosch - Devin Titus has become the Maroons' talisman following the departure of Rayners and he is the club's top scorer in the league this term with seven goals from 25 appearances, while also providing four assists. The 24-year-old winger proved his worth against Arrows most recently when he sent a rocket into the top right corner of the net from range to get Stellies going in Hammarsdale.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: (Last five Betway Premiership meetings)

Matches - 5

Sundowns wins - 4

Stellenbosch wins - 0

Draws - 1