HOW THEY MATCH UP

BIDVEST Wits hosts Mamelodi Sundowns today in an Absa Premiership top-of-thetable clash at Bidvest Stadium (6pm). There’ll be several duels on and off the field. We looks at three of those contests.

DARREN KEET V DENIS ONYANGO

The two goalkeepers will not directly face each other but they have a lot to prove in this match.

Keet has to show that he deserves Bafana Bafana’s No 1 jersey in the absence of the injured Itumeleng Khune.

Keeping a clean sheet against one of the most potent attacks in the country will go a long way in proving that and securing a starting berth for Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya next month.

Keet has been the best goalkeeper in the country. He has nine clean sheets in 20 matches in the league and is the early contender for the PSL Goalkeeper of the Season award.

Onyango on the other hand has to make up for his mistake against Polokwane City on Tuesday which cost Sundowns victory and an opportunity to go level with the Clever Boys.

The Ugandan has been a reliable figure for the Tshwane giants, bailing them out a number of times.

His mistake left him in tears as he walked off the pitch. He even apologised after the match while his coach Pitso Mosimane quickly came to his defence. A good showing will exorcise those demons.

GAVIN HUNT V PITSO MOSIMANE

The two coaches bring the best out of each other due to their rivalry. They’ll be looking to outsmart each other with the No 1 position up for grabs for the winners.

They are the two longest serving coaches in the country and since their arrival in their respective teams, they have transformed them.

Hunt turned Wits from a team that would be glad to finish in the top four to an ambitious unit that would be disappointed at finishing second. He also brought the club’s first league title in 99 years.

Hunt is on a mission to make up for the club’s disastrous showing in the last campaign where they went from league champions to relegation contenders.

Mosimane is one league title away from matching Hunt’s tally of four league titles.

Should “Jingles” guide Sundowns to league glory, he would be one title away from realising his dream – taking the Brazilians to 10 league titles in the PSL era.

A win over the Clever Boys would put Sundowns in pole position to win the league in a season in which they haven’t been at their best but have kept up with the leaders.

That title would cement his status as the best coach in the PSL era.

THABANG MONARE V HLOMPHO KEKANA

These two central midfielders aren’t fancy, but they carry the piano that the creative members of their team play.

They’re both honest players who leave everything on the pitch.

Monare has lived in the world of extremes. He captained Jomo Cosmos to promotion, saw them relegated the following season, switched to Wits and won the league title with them.

His creativity and high work rate is the foundation the Wits team is built on. He even stated that he would love to retire at the Clever Boys.

While Monare is on his way to becoming a Wits legend, Kekana is already there at Sundowns.

The Zebediela-born hard man captained Sundowns to their first CAF Champions League title and to the league crown they won in record fashion in the 2015/16 season. He is as tough as they come and has a thunderous boot that has scored some stunning goals.

Kekana is maturing like fine wine, getting better as the years go by. He is an inspirational captain who leads by example with his conduct on and off the field.

The winner of this duel will go a long way in deciding who will finish the night with maximum points.