Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena has welcomed the prospect of taking on rivals Orlando Pirates in a DStv Premiership clash in an unusual New Year’s Eve slot at Loftus.

According to a preliminary fixture list, the Brazilians will start the defence of their league title against Cape Town City away from home on the evening of August 5.

Another fixture of interest for the fans is the clash between Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs who will play in front of fans for the first time in two years on August 6 at FNB Stadium.

The Soweto derby will be followed on August 13 by a fixture between Sundowns and Chiefs at Loftus.

Because of a break caused by the Fifa World Cup in Qatar, Pirates will make the short trip to the capital city to take on Sundowns and Mokwena said they are looking forward to it.

“I know why you are asking that question — because it has never been done in South African football,” he said from the team's preseason camp in Rustenburg. “But the reality is that it is done in most parts of the world, in the UK they play around Christmas, on December 31 and on January 1. It is something that we are looking forward to and hopefully we can get it right with regards to how do we prepare.

“It is going to be a very difficult fixture because we expect a much stronger Pirates this coming season but let’s see how it goes and hopefully we'll be ready for that match.”

Mokwena said preparations are going well in Rustenburg.

“This is our second week of preseason. We have had nine training sessions so far trying to work on a couple of new things from a tactical perspective. We are still trying to prepare the bodies physically to make sure that we are ready for what is going to be a difficult season, particularly because of the complications with the World Cup in December.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done now to prepare, work on tactics and different schemes but players have responded well and they have come back in good shape.

“We are happy with the team that we have and are trying to be strategic with who we are trying to recruit. Days of seeing seven or eight transfers from Mamelodi Sundowns are over.

“We are trying to sign in relation to the needs of the team and maybe this season we are trying to sign in looking how we want to play. We did a bit of work over the past two seasons by bringing in a lot of good players.

“We believe they have set the team a good foundation and now I think a maximum of three more will probably come through the door, but no more than three.”