Mamelodi Sundowns will not treat their Caf Champions League match against Al-Merrikh as a dead-rubber as the SA team is on a mission to improve its points tally from last season.

Sundowns host the Sudanese team at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday at 3 pm.

Sundowns are at the summit of Group A and a defeat won’t change that, but their co-coach Manqoba Mgqithi has revealed the main reason behind their determination to win against Merrikh.

The SA team is on 13 points, the same number they managed in the group stages last season, and are looking to better that by beating Merrikh.

“It doesn’t mean much that we have already secured a place in the quarter-finals. I think I’ve said this before, our biggest competition is ourselves,” Mgqithi said.

“We have a responsibility to improve and better the previous benchmark of 13 points we got in the group stages last year.

“We have a responsibility to better that because it’s very important for us to minimise the possibilities of seeing how stressful it is when we lose a match.

“We will try to give this match the respect it deserves by going out there with the mentality to win because it’s very important fo rhow we want to finish the season,” the coach said.

“We don’t treat this game as a dead-rubber.”

The Sudanese team is the only side that has managed to avoid a defeat at the hands of Sundowns in Group A that also has Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly and Al Hilal of Sudan.

Downs and Merrikh played to a goalless draw in the first round.

“Al-Merrikh is one of the best teams in Sudan and three championships in a row, taking over from Al Hilal ,which made them to be one of the biggest teams in the continent,” Mgqithi said.

“We would love to play this match with our supporters in the stadium and enjoy that drum beat and singing again, and see how the opponent responds because not having supporters has been a big equaliser in terms of how matches were approached.”

Merrikh are at the foot of the table with four points from five matches.