Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena says their DStv Premiership clash against Orlando Pirates at Loftus on Friday afternoon is going to be interesting because there is little separating the two teams in terms of quality.

The Brazilians go into the match sitting on top of the standings and looking to increase their lead while fifth-placed Buccaneers will be out to solidify their place in the top eight.

Pirates will also want to transfer the confidence they gained by beating AmaZulu to lift the MTN8 competition in November to the league as they continue to improve under Spanish coach Jose Riveiro.

“It’s going to be an interesting game because there’s two very good teams meeting,” Mokwena said this week, adding they will see as the season continues if the break forced by the Fifa World Cup in Qatar will affect the team.

“Breaks are always very difficult to judge until you have the performances on the pitch. This is why I always say the game of football belongs to the players because they are the people who put the product on the pitch. We will wait and see what the players put on the pitch on Friday,” he said.

Mokwena said they have done everything possible to prepare the players for this match, which is going to be difficult.

“We are hopeful the work we’ve done can give us a very good performance because we know playing against Orlando Pirates, we don’t have a chance of winning if we don’t play well.

“We want to play well, and we want to win. Our focus is on the preparations and I think as a team we have done a great job to try and assist the players to prepare for the game and make sure we give a good performance.”

Sundowns key midfielder Themba Zwane said they are targeting all the three points because they are playing at home.

“We want to win the game and we have been working on improving from our previous game. We know it’s going to be a difficult game, but we are ready to fight as a team.”