Golden Arrows vs Mamelodi Sundowns: Prediction, kick-off time and head-to-head

Golden Arrows and Mamelodi Sundowns are back at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium for the first Telkom Knockout semi-final on Saturday.

The Clermont venue was the scene of one of the bigger upsets seen so far in the current season, where Abafana Besthende staged an ambush to run off 3-2 winners on a rainy Sunday.

TKO preview: Golden Arrows vs Mamelodi Sundowns

The man who masterminded the league champions’ demise was Steve Komphela, who joked that he prays for more rain on Saturday.

“It must rain, they don’t want it at Clermont, we are going there. Because when we go to Pretoria they don’t make it easy for us, so let’s give them what they don’t want.”

Steve Komphela

The pitch at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium has seen some complaints in the past, but the former Bafana skipper reckons it’s in a good condition.

“They are a top side, they are used to conditions that are adverse, they’ve been to Africa,” Komphela said.

“If they complain about modest discomfort, you should plead for more because in other countries it’s worse in terms of traveling logistics and all that transport, sometimes hotels and training facilities are not up to standard.

“If they complain about here at home, mina I wish it was even worse. Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium is tops, it is up to the standard of the PSL.”

Steve Komphela

The league result between the two teams will have had placed a psychological marker in Sundowns’ players’ minds, but captain Hlompho Kekana says they are not approaching the game with revenge high on the agenda.

“As a team like Mamelodi Sundowns we can’t fall into those traps of playing for revenge. We have been doing well in the previous years where we have been minding our own business and that was to make sure that we break every record that we wanted to break. Teams lose against us all the time but nobody has come to us for a revenge match. We are very professional enough to understand that we are carrying a lot of responsibility to win games for Sundowns.”

Hlompho Kekana

Kick off time and prediction

Kick off: 15:00 on Saturday, 23 November

Prediction: Pulling off a second victory in a row for Arrows against Sundowns could become tricky task. The visitors will be boosted by the return of one Gaston Sirino, and possess enough firepower to secure a win this time around.