The Brazilians broke their cup hoodoo against Amakhosi in their Last 16 cup tie last month, winning on post match penalties after a 1-1 stalemate between the two teams.
For Chiefs it was a bitter pill to swallow; they had dominated the match until the last 10 minutes of regulation time and missed several good scoring chances that would have killed off the Tshwane team.
Instead Sundowns prevailed in the shootout and are now amongst the favourites to go all the way and win the cup title.
However, this league match offers Muhsin Ertugral and his team the chance to put the record straight, and their recent form in the Premiership is very promising.
Amakhosi have claimed three successive wins in the PSL, easily their best run of form in what has been a disappointing season.
This past Sunday they were deserved victors over Soweto rivals Moroka Swallows, with Mabhuti Khenyeza, Jonathan Quartey and Thuso Phala all finding the back of the net.
Chiefs’ dangerman David Mathebula, who has helped the Amakhosi step up into the top eight slots in the league, feels that he will be up to the task of ensuring that Chiefs continue on their winning way.
According to the club’s website, Mathebula has become somewhat of a target man, as the opposition try to limit his influence on the outcome of matches. He does though feel that being the man pin pointed as the danger man, has meant that he has to lift his game and believes that he has.
With Mathebula exerting his influence on matches in recent times he is well aware that opposing teams will use various means to halt him.
Mathebula also feels that the Brazilians will want to prove on Sunday that their victory a fortnight ago was no fluke. Chiefs though have ambitions of their own and will want to lay that defeat to rest with a win on Sunday.
“It will be wrong for us to think that Sundowns will be more focused on the Nedbank Cup, that could not be further from the truth. Just like us they would like to improve on their position on the league standings and will want to get three points, we on the other hand will not want to drop back out of the top eight and instead need to climb to up.”
Sundowns meanwhile, had to travel to Mauritius to wrap up their second round tie against Curepipe Starlight in the CAF Champions League. The Brazilians won 1-0 to seal a 4-0 aggregate victory over the two legs, and they will now face Sudan's Al Hilal with a place in the lucrative group phase of the continental competition up for grabs.
But despite the distraction of competing on three fronts, Sundowns will surely not take their eyes off the ball ahead of a clash with Chiefs, one of their fiercest rivals.
The teams are very evenly matched – their league game in the first half of the season ended goalless, as did the league cup final (won on penalties by Chiefs) and their last meeting, as mentioned above, came in the cup, where it ended 1-1 after 120 minutes and the Brazilians went on to victory in the shootout.
In head-to-head terms it is Chiefs who have the edge: Amakhosi have won 17 matches to Sundowns’ 14 in their 45 league games since 1985, although Chiefs last beat their opponents outright in the first half of the 2005/06 season.
LAST FIVE RESULTS:Sundowns:Date H/A Opponent Result19/03/08 A Black Leopards W 3-0 12/03/08 H Santos D 0-008/03/08 H Bloemfontein Celtic D 0-005/03/08 A Golden Arrows W 2-127/02/08 H Moroka Swallows L 1-3
Chiefs:Date H/A Opponent Result06/04/08 A Moroka Swallows W 3-1 21/03/08 H AmaZulu W 1-009/03/08 A Free State Stars W 4-105/03/08 H Platinum Stars D 0-001/03/08 A Ajax Cape Town D 1-1
HEAD TO HEAD STATS:League meetings since 1996/97:
1996/97Chiefs 2 (Mooki, Ndlanya) Sundowns 0Sundowns 3 (Makalakalane 2, Chukwu) Chiefs 1 (Mooki)
1997/98Sundowns 0 Chiefs 0Chiefs 2 (Masunda, Mooki) Sundowns 0
1998/99Sundowns 0 Chiefs 0Chiefs 1 (Mooki) Sundowns 2 (Ramasike, Mudau)
1999/2000Chiefs 1 (Makua) Sundowns 1 (Tshisevhe (og)Sundowns 3 (Feutmba, Shai, Manzini) Chiefs 1 (Nomvete)
2000/01Chiefs 2 (Nomvete 2 (2pens)) Sundowns 1 (Chukwu)Sundowns 0 Chiefs 1 (Evans (og))
2001/02Sundowns 1 (Mudau) Chiefs 0Chiefs 1 (Nzama) Sundowns 1 (Bapela)
2002/03Sundowns 0 Chiefs 0Chiefs2 (Mushangazhike, Mabedi (pen)) Sundowns 0
2003/04Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Mayo) Sundowns 0Sundowns 0 Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Kannemeyer)
2004/05Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma) Sundowns 1 (Ngwenya)Sundowns 3 (Mashe, Sapula, Mthombeni) Chiefs 4 (Radebe, Mbesuma 3)
2005/06Chiefs 1 (Obua (pen)) Sundowns 0Sundowns 3 (Dladla 2, Moriri) Chiefs 1 (Obua)
2006/07Chiefs 0 Sundowns 0Sundowns 2 (Chabangu, Torrealba) Chiefs 1 (Fernandez (pen))
2007/08Chiefs 0 Sundowns 0
