This season has all the ingredients of ending with a surprise Absa Premiership champion, and Polokwane City have raised their hand as a surprise candidate.

Rise and Shine are lurking among the top teams in the league race where they are four points behind joint leaders Orlando Pirates and Sundowns.

The Limpopo outfit have quietly kept within touching distance of the summit with them now on 40 points after 25 games.

On Sunday, City fought back from a goal down to thrash Black Leopards 3-1 in the provincial derby courtesy of goals from Puleng Tlolane, Mpho Mvelase and Mohammed Anas.

Coach Jozef Vukusic has urged his team to make a charge for the top of the table. "I didn't know this league well [when I arrived in the country], so I was thinking that the top eight would be tough and it is tough ... but now we only need three points and we will be there [on top]," he said.

"But we will stay humble and we will go from game to game. In the next game we will try to win again and we can do that because we are safe [from relegation]. We don't have any pressure.

"I told the players that winning all the remaining games is not a problem. We will go for the next game against SuperSport United on Saturday and they are good."

Rise and Shine have been boosted by the return to form of striker Puleng Tlolane, who is back after missing most of the games in the first round.

The 28-year-old has featured in only 10 of City's 25 games so far. Vukusic said Tlolane has fought his way back into the team.

"I have no problem to play Puleng every game and when he was ready he played. He came and trained well and in two games he didn't perform well but I did not change him."