Unbeaten pair face a tough weekend

Unbeaten pair face a tough weekend

ONLY DOWNS, CITY MAINTAIN 100% RECORD

By Mark Gleeson

The third round of the DStv Premiership kicks off this weekend with only two teams having maintained a 100% precent record.

Mamelodi Sundowns are three out of three with their handsome Tuesday win over Lamontville Golden Arrows while Cape Town City go into tonight’s match against SuperSport United with two victories from two games played.

This might be perceived as a continuation of the inconsistency of last season – Sundowns aside of course – or symptomatic of the close competition in the league.

Sundowns play away tomorrow at Chippa United in Gqeberha in a match brought forward to give them some wiggle room on the fixture list in the coming months when they will be competing in the African Champions League and the new African Football League.

Chippa put on a feisty display on Tuesday when they came from behind to hold Orlando Pirates and have promised Sundowns a similar reception, although it is hard to see them being able to repeat that intensity so quickly after their last game.

Cape Town City have high hopes of challenging this season but need a much-improved campaign on the road than they had in the last. They have already beaten Moroka Swallows away this season, but SuperSport will be a tougher proposition in Pretoria tonight.

Kaizer Chiefs go away to TS Galaxy hoping to build momentum on last weekend’s last gasp MTN8 win in Cape Town. It was their first success under coach Molefi Ntseki, but the club have only one point from their opening two league matches and failure at the Mbombela Stadium will again ratchet up the pressure.

Fresh from their Super Cup success over Sevilla on Wednesday, Manchester City continue the defence of their Premier League crown with a much-anticipated clash against Newcastle. It is Abu Dhabi cash against Saudi petrodollars, with the transformation of Newcastle proving a lot quicker than it did with City once the sheikhs took over the club.

Newcastle finished in the Champions League places last season and began the new term with a thumping of Aston Villa, who were not too bad either in the previous campaign.

It will be intriguing to see whether Newcastle are now real challengers or whether Pep Guardiola’s team will knock them down a peg or two.

This weekend also marks the kick-off of the new Serie A season which many clubs lining up to take a tilt at Napoli’s crown.