Nasreddine Nabi concerned he doesn’t have enough time to prepare his Kaizer Chiefs team for this weekend’s highly anticipated Betway Premiership battle with the mighty Mamelodi Sundowns.
Kaizer Chiefs’ credentials as potential title contenders will be severely tested when they go up against the reigning seven-time league champions at FNB Stadium.
Amakhosi have made a brilliant start to the season and picked up the maximum six points from their two games to give their fans real hope that the club are finally back on track.
90 + 4’| #AMA 1 : 3 #CHI
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) September 25, 2024
Full time score: (Ighodaro 47’) AmaZulu FC 1 : 3 Kaizer Chiefs (Chivaviro 12’, Sirino 14’, Miguel 23’)
Betway Man of the Match: Inácio Miguel#Amakhosi4Life #AlwaysHome #BetwayPrem pic.twitter.com/LhMXxLKT2q
However, they meet a confident Sundowns outfit that’s also started the season well, and eager to prove a point that they are still the kings of South African football.
The clash between the two teams is highly anticipated by fans of both clubs.
Speaking after his team’s brilliant 3-1 win over AmaZulu on Wednesday, Nabi bemoaned the fact that Chiefs only had two days to prepare for the massive encounter.
“It’s in less than 48 hours, I’m really just wondering if that is enough time to prepare for the next game, no matter which team it is,” Nabi said after Wednesday’s game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“We only have 48 hours, and according to Fifa, it shouldn’t be like that. It’s a short time,” the Tunisian said.
A reasoning he gave for needing more time was for tactical changes between games, as he felt a different approach to Wednesday’s game against AmaZulu was needed for a team like Sundowns.
“If you prepare for a game on a professional level, you need time because my tactics for today may differ from that of the game against Sundowns.
“We need to practice them on the field. But tomorrow (Thursday) we are flying back to Johannesburg, that’s one day after the game.
“I don’t have time to prepare my team tactically for the game. It’s not possible for me [to do it] for the game against Sundowns because we had a game [on Wednesday] with AmaZulu.”
Nadi did, however, add that they wouldn’t be using the short turnaround time between games as an excuse and they would give everything to win the game.
“We have so much respect for Sundowns but we remain Kaizer Chiefs and are playing at home. Yes, we would have loved more time to prepare for this game, but we will give 200 per cent.”
IOL Sport