Kaizer Chiefs could have reason to have issues regarding the fixture of their first round clashes against Mamelodi Sundowns in five consecutive seasons to date.
If the Betway Premiership fixture is done by the drawing of lots, it must be a huge coincidence that for five seasons in a row, Chiefs have been scheduled to meet Sundowns very early in the campaign.
Given the Glamour Boys' struggles over the last four seasons, meeting the reigning champions within the first three matchdays has derailed them from having any sort of momentum in the league.
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Amakhosi, for a change, opened their league season with a 2-1 win over Marumo Gallants, the first time they did so since the 2019/20 campaign and as was the case in the last four seasons, they are set to meet Masandawana next weekend, in matchday three.
If the statistics of the last four campaigns would prevail, the prospect of facing the Brazilians early in the season would appear ominous for the Glamour Boys.
Since the 2020/21 campaign, Chiefs have faced Sundowns within the first three match-days in consecutive seasons and have gone on to lose all the matches.
From October 2020, Amakhosi had to open their campaign against the Tshwane giants, where they were hammered 3-0 and the following season the Naturena-based side had to contend with the champions again only in matchday three, where they lost 2-0.
The same theme repeated itself in the 2022/23 campaign, where in just the third match of the season, guess what, they had to face Sundowns and lost 4-0.
Last season Chiefs did not get to match number four before coming up against the perennial champions, where they narrowly lost 2-1.
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Although the Glamour Boys have to brace themselves for meeting Sundowns early again, in match number three, unlike in the past four seasons, they appear to be in a better mood - barring defeat against AmaZulu next Wednesday.
The last time Chiefs faced The Brazilians much later in the first round, was in the 2019/20 season in matchday nine, where they won 2-0, a victory which was part of their eight-game winning streak, where they topped the table for much of the campaign before the famous collapse in the last few games in the bio-bubble.
