The Premier Soccer League champions play the Championship outfit aiming at getting a positive result.
Mamelodi Sundowns continue shaping up for the 2024/25 campaign with another pre-season friendly game against English side Cardiff City on Tuesday.
Masandawana are desperate to get a positive outcome against the Championship outfit after losing their last two games against Germany's third-tier side SV Sandhausen and Ukrainians Dynamo Kyiv respectively.
The Premier Soccer League champions are stabilizing their technical team after the exit of Rulani Mokwena who is now in charge of Wydad Athletic Club.
Cardiff are playing their fifth friendly game as they strengthen the squad hoping to push for promotion in the new season.
They have won three of the four games played so far, scoring 13 goals in the process and conceding just four.
What did they say?
Cardiff attacker Ollie Tanner is psyched up to playing one of the best teams from Africa, but he is positive they will get a good result.
“They'll be good games. It's good to test yourself against opposition that you don't usually play, especially teams from foreign countries,” he told the club's media team.
“You need fitness in the pre-season. So to have this many games, you can do that and get the squad going. It's always positive.”
Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe is convinced the Brazilians will bounce back after their initial defeats.
“What is happening at the club, is we are actually in the process of trying to make sure that we are set in the best position possible to make this one of the best seasons we’re [going to] have in our history,” Motsepe told the media.
“The results that we’re seeing now is us setting ourselves up against the caliber that we might find ourselves playing against in the [2025 Fifa] Club World Cup. That’s what we’re doing right now so that as the season progresses, we’re ready.”
Cardiff with a slight advantage against under-pressure Downs?
Masandawana technical team led by Manqoba Mngqithi and Steve Komphela are working hard to have their tactics understood by the players. It might take some time for the playing unit to fully grasp new ideas after Mokwena's exit.
For the Welsh outfit, things are seemingly falling into place as they have won their last three pre-season matches.
Time and where to watch
The fixture will be played at 16.00 hours at Sportzentrum, Worgl in Austria with fans getting a free ticket to watch the game at the venue.
For those at home, Downs will be sharing the proceedings on their social media platforms and Sundowns TV.
Cardiff City TC will be broadcasting the game as well, giving the supporters a variety of options.
