Sundowns star Maema expects tough contest against resurgent Pirates

The Brazilians gained a measure of revenge in the final of the friendly Black Label Cup in November, and beat Pirates again at home in the league in December (2-0).

“I expect them to come at us because they are in a groove. It is going to be a difficult match against highly motivated team. They will come at us almost same way they did the first fixture that we played against them.

“They are a bit different now because they used to play three at the back but now they play with four. A key thing about them is they are dangerous on the counterattack.

“The other plus for them is their supporters will be behind them because they are at home. But we have our own processes and we know how to guard against such tactics [and situations].

“Preparations for the match are going well, we just came back from some time off and are rejuvenating and working on getting back to our groove.

“We are preparing like any other game. We always focus on our own goals we want to achieve. We just have to make sure we are ready for the game on Saturday.”

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