Manqoba Mngqithi not taking Polokwane City lightly

Williams has travelled to Paris for the Ballon d’Or awards on Monday night where he is nominated for the Yachine Trophy, while Ribeiro is suspended.

The Sundowns coach described City as a “complicated team” ahead of their Betway Premiership clash at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

"Polokwane City is a very complicated team, there were a lot of man-to-man marking but I think with the time that we have, we'll try to figure out what we need to do. I do believe we will have a very strong team to play against them and we are hoping to come back with the three points," Mngqithi said.

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Downs are hoping to return to the top of the table with a victory away to Rise and Shine, with Mngqithi confident the appetite to defend the title remains evident even against a stubborn City outfit. 

"It's not gonna be easy, it's a team that works really hard off the ball. It's a team that has got very influential players in Chauke [Hlayisi], in Appollis [Oswin], in Matuludi [Thabang], that makes them a team that you must always be wary of what they might bring into the game but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get into it. One is optimistic that with the group that we have, we can always compete at any given stage with any other team in the league," he added.

Orlando Pirates jumped to the summit with a win over AmaZulu on Friday night, setting up what could be an intriguing title race this season.

Mngqithi has admitted that he views The Buccaneers as their strongest rivals for the championship.

"I think I said from the beginning in the launch that for me they are the team that I think is going to be really pushing us. I hope and pray they do have the depth to carry themselves during the group stages and the league because I think that's where maybe the separation will take place because I do believe they are a very good team."