Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows resume hostilities after MTN8 thriller

The two sides locked horns over two legs in the MTN8 semi-finals with the Brazilians winning on away goals after losing the first leg 1-0.

Sundowns, in second place on the league standings, with 13 points from their opening five games, responded by scoring three goals in the second leg but were pushed all the way with Arrows scoring twice in a 3-2 win.

A victory for Miguel Cardoso's side would see them move three points above current league leaders Orlando Pirates, who don't play Durban City for two weeks as they cope with the first qualifying round of the CAF Champions League.

Arrows, down in seventh, have six points from their opening four games, last seeing off Stellenbosch 1-0 in the league ahead of their second leg loss.

Downs, meanwhile, last overcame Milford FC 2-0 on Wednesday.

Ahead of the game, Cardoso said on SuperSport that he intends to rotate his squad.

"We need to rest the players. They are very tired and Arrows didn’t play during the week. So, we need freshness, we need capacity and we need another beautiful competitive match."

Pitso Dladla added that he was proud of his players for their fightback despite the overall loss.

"We are proud of these boys, and the good thing is that what we see in the matches is what we see in training, because how you train is how you play. There are a lot of individuals who are developing nicely in this team so we are very happy," he said.

"On Sunday we will be back here at King Zwelethini and I believe we are ready for the game against Sundowns."

Edward Maova remains sidelined for Arrows with a knee injury while Khuliso Mudau (Achilles) is missing for Downs, and Mothobi Mvala is a fitness doubt as he manages his recent return from injury.