Can Da Cruz break Chiefs’ early-season Sundowns jinx?

Kaizer Chiefs will try to avoid another damaging early-season defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns when the two South African giants meet at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The fixture has repeatedly shaped Chiefs’ momentum in recent campaigns, with losses against the Tshwane-based side often followed by further setbacks as Amakhosi struggled to establish a strong start to the season.

The latest meeting comes at an unusual moment for Sundowns. The CAF Champions League winners will face Chiefs without carrying the domestic champions’ tag for the first time in nine years, adding another layer of interest to one of the most prominent fixtures in the South African football calendar.

Chiefs’ recent record in this contest shows how costly a defeat can become. In the 2021/22 Betway Premiership season, the Naturena-based club began with a goalless draw against TS Galaxy before recording a win over Baroka FC. They then lost 2-0 to Sundowns and were beaten 4-1 by Royal AM in their next match.

A year later, the Gold and Black recovered from an opening-day defeat by the club then owned by Shauwn Mkhize, beating Maritzburg United 3-0. Their progress was halted in the following game, however, when Sundowns handed them a 4-0 defeat.

Chiefs again failed to turn an early draw into sustained momentum in 2023/24. They opened their league campaign with a goalless stalemate against Chippa United, then lost 2-1 to the side from Chloorkop. TS Galaxy compounded their problems by winning the next match 1-0.

The pattern continued during the 2024/25 campaign. Under former head coach Nasreddine Nabi, Chiefs made an encouraging start by beating Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu FC in their opening two matches. Sundowns then ended that winning run with a 2-1 victory, after which Chiefs drew with Magesi as their league form began to worsen.

There was greater optimism last season, when Chiefs won their first three matches. They then held Miguel Cardoso’s Sundowns to a credible draw, avoiding the type of defeat that had undermined their progress in previous years.

The latest encounter therefore presents a test of whether Chiefs can produce another positive result against their long-standing rivals and prevent the fixture from once again becoming a turning point in their campaign.

Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has previously highlighted the demanding schedule facing his team, saying Chiefs are the only side with three games in six days. That workload will add to the challenge of taking on the CAF Champions League holders in such a high-profile early-season match.

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