Under-siege Cape Town Spurs and visiting Chippa United will be desperate for a first DStv Premiership win of the season at Athlone Stadium on Friday (kick-off 7.30pm).
Spurs and their coach Shaun Bartlett are at their lowest ebb as they are winless after three matches.
They have scored one goal and conceded six after losing to TS Galaxy, Sekhukhune United and Polokwane City.
Chippa and their ostentatious mentor Morgan Mammila are also yet to register a Premiership win after three consecutive draws and a 2-0 loss to champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Spurs and Chippa are two of six sides who have yet to record a win this season, with the Capetonians propping up the 16-team league.
After losing to TS Galaxy in their opening match, Spurs produced improved performances but still suffered defeat in their next two matches.
Bartlett has not been able to identify the problem but he feels his Premiership newcomers may be suffering from stage fright.
“I don’t know if it is anxiety or nerves but we have to get over this because it is not going to help us going forward,” the former Bafana Bafana striker said.
“We must ensure that we pick up points as quickly as possible. Maybe the only positive thing is the fact that we managed to score a goal but I think we pushed on after we conceded the third goal.
“We need to do that from the beginning, not when we are in a losing position.”
Spurs are the only team who are without a point and the match against Chippa may provide some answers for his under-performing side.
Bartlett is desperate to change the depressing sequence of results.
“We can’t run away from it, three losses in three matches,” he said. ”It means now we have to do something different. Maybe the personnel that we have used this far is not good enough.
“The fighting spirit ... I’ve to ask a lot of questions to the players in the field (and) if they don’t bring enough, we will look at different players who can help us.
I think that’s the biggest challenge for us, to change the squad.”
Bartlett said he feels his players have realised that they must raise their levels and he's expecting them to run out with a renewed sense of urgency against the Chilli Boys.
He has also been seeing some positive signs at training this week.
Spurs will be hoping their well-travelled Mitchells Plain striker Therlo Moosa will finally be on song. In the past, he's played for Vasco da Gama, Sundowns and Milano United.
Last season, he showcased his goal-scoring abilities in the Motsepe Foundation Championship and was among the leading goal-scorers. A feature of his game is his movement in the final third and box IQ, which could cause problems in the Chilli Boys' defence.
Moosa will likely be a marked man and Chippa may assign Gugulethu-born defender Ayabulela Magqwaka to keep an eye on him.
Magqwaka is a former Ajax Cape Town youth academy product and has been an important player for Chippa in the last couple of seasons.