Mamelodi Sundowns refocus on Betway Premiership battle as Richards Bay loom
Fresh off a historic CAF Champions League triumph, Mamelodi Sundowns return to domestic duty on Wednesday night as they host Richards Bay at Loftus Versfeld.
The Cape Winelands club secured third place last season and CAF Confederation Cup football, where there made it to the semi-finals in their debut season.
They are on course for another CAF place if they can pick up enough points from their remaining seven games of the current season.
Stellies are currently in fourth place with 38 points from 23 games - three points behind third-placed Sekhukhune United, but with a game in hand.
They come into this tie on the back of a 0-0 draw with Tanzanian side Simba SC, having lost the first leg 1-0 - and after overcoming AmaZulu 1-0 in the league.
Chippa, meanwhile, are chasing a top eight finish, currently in eighth place with 30 points from 23 games.
The Chili Boys have drawn their last two games 0-0, against Golden Arrows and Kaizer Chiefs.
Ahead of the game, Barker told SABC Sport: "I try and sort of remind the players that football will have highs and lows, and we'll have setbacks and good times, but we've come off an emotional two-legged game against Simba, which was not easy in Tanzania, so it's about just getting ourselves back to zero.
"We're on a minus-three or four now from the disappointment, but we need to get back [to zero before] a big game on Wednesday in the league [against Chippa United], so it's important for us to refocus.
“And we've got less than a month to turn this season into a special season, so if we can manage to again qualify for Confederation Cup, having made the semi-final and the MTN8 final, I think we can look back at the season as having been a really good season, but there's still a lot of work to be done.”