Cape Town - The champagne will be kept on ice on Saturday night at Loftus Versfeld, just in case Mamelodi Sundowns are declared winners of the PSL Premiership ahead of the CAF Champions League clash against Coton Sport.
Undefeated Sundowns host Cameroon's Coton Sport at Loftus in a Group B clash that may be of academic interest. Sundowns have already qualified for the knock-out with 11 points while the winless Coton Sport have already been eliminated.
Prior to the kick-off of this Group B clash at Loftus, Sundowns will be eyeing the outcome of a local Premiership clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Hosts Chippa United will be up against SuperSport United and their clash kicks off at 5.30pm.
If SuperSport (39 points from 23 matches) lose or draw, Sundowns will emerge Premiership winners since they would be in an unassailable position with 59 points, and that earns them a sixth consecutive Premiership title.
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With 24 matches under the belt, the most points SuperSport can score from the remaining games is 18 and that gives them a possible 57 points, which will be short of Sindowns' present 59 points.
It could make for a real festive atmosphere at Loftus and the champagne could be flowing in the suites around the stadium before the action kicks off. In the recent clash against Al Ahly, Sundowns fans that were wearing yellow were granted free entry and this could be the case again.
Whatever the outcome, or the fact that Sundowns have already qualified for the play-offs, head coach Rhulani Mokwena said winning the match was of utmost importance.
"Winning is very important for us and it is something we discussed with the players earlier today," said Mokwena.
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"It is very important for us to finish No 1 in the group because it has a lot of connotations to it and we want to finish first.
"We want to make sure we compete with the same excellence that we played every single match.
"Winning is a habit and its sounds clichéd but it is important that you go into the knock-out rounds knowing you have the feeling of how to win matches. This is the mentality we want to carry into the next match."
By the time this match ends at Loftus, Sundowns will know which other Group B team will join them in the knock-out stages.
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Meanwhile, panic has set in at Al Ahly FC, the 10-time CAF Champions League title-holders who have moved their final Group B clash against Sudan's Al Hilal to Cairo International Stadium on Saturday evening (kick-off 9pm).
This season Al Ahly has been playing their home matches at the smaller Al-Salam Stadium, which attracted between 10 000 and 15 000 spectators.
However, desperate Al Ahly has decided the play their trump card and call on their hysterical supporters to fill the 50 000-seater stadium.
The Cairo-based club have obtained the approval of the security authorities for a crowd of 50 000. Thousands of Sudanese supporters will also be making the two-hour flight to Cairo to offer support.
Al Hilal only need a draw to eliminate Al Ahly and in that case, will join Sundowns in the next round.