Kaizer Chiefs will host Chippa United in a Betway Premiership clash hoping they can win and move into the top half of the standings.
Their current ninth place is an embarrassment for the country's most revered club, and their Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi has been criticised both for poor results and his "long ball" style of play.
Sunday's match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, also affords the team a chance to record their first clean sheet of the Premiership season. Chiefs are the only team that has conceded at least one goal in every one of their nine fixtures this season.
Chiefs have managed just three wins from their first nine league matches and, hence, their mediocre ninth place.
Nabi is hopeful things will turn around quickly: “I want Chiefs supporters and management to be happy by us collecting more points. To collect more points we need consistent performances in our games.”
When Nabi plots Chippa's downfall, the first name on the team sheet could be striker Ashley du Preez who scored two goals in his last four matches. He is looking to step up his productivity in the striking zone.
“It’s about being calm. Sometimes as a striker, you make up your mind in front of the box and do what your mind tells you,” said Du Preez.
“It either works or it doesn’t. For me, it’s about being calmer.”
Meanwhile, Chippa coach Kwanele Kopo will be arriving with high hopes since Chiefs have been under-performing this season. He knows at least his charges will be highly motivated for the match. He says players have a culture of only targeting big performances against the 'Big Three' and this will be the case for the final game of 2024 against Kaizer Chiefs.
"Without disputing that, one of the things we're trying to get the players and management of the club to understand is that, if you look in the previous seasons, Chippa would always do well against Sundowns, Chiefs, Pirates," said Kopo.
"They don't do so well against the other teams. We need to change that because we need to beat our closest competitors. That is the mentality we've instilled in the guys that, sometimes you'll beat Chiefs, Pirates, and Sundowns, and you're still fighting relegation.
"We need to play well and get a result against Chiefs, but it's more important for us to get results against everybody else in the league because those are our closest competitors.
"It's a big club, they are behind us on the log for the first time in many, many years, so it's going to be a tough game. We have already discussed it with the chairman Siviwe Mpengesi and the other guys as we think about possible approaches.
"Are Chiefs beatable?
“I think yes, they are. Anybody in the league is beatable this season and everybody has shown that. We have to review our performance and do a proper analysis of Chiefs. We will see if we need to change anything, perhaps a different approach."
Many Chiefs players will be playing for future contracts because the January transfer window will soon open, and Nabi may use the chance to beef up the anaemic squad.