South Africa and Botswana will both be targeting maximum points when they meet in a 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, kick-off at 3:30pm.
Ethiopia lead Group A with 10 points, followed by Bafana Bafana with eight points and then Botswana and the Central African Republic, with seven and three points, respectively.
This means that the top three teams still have a chance to go through the next round of qualifiers depending on various permutations.
Bafana need to beat Botswana and hope that Ethiopia drop points in their match against Central African Republic, which will be played in Brazzaville, also on Saturday.
Coach Gordon Igesund has called up a strong squad including a host of overseas-based players and he says he’s expecting an open game.
“I think that due to the fact that both teams can still qualify, that’s going to make it an exciting game because they are not going to sit back and play for a point,” said Igesund.
“A point for them is no good so I think the game might be a little bit open with an attacking approach from both sides and that will be great for us.
“We understand that we have another opportunity to qualify, but we can’t do more than what we can do.
“We need to go out there and beat Botswana and whatever happens in the game between Ethiopia and CAR is out of our hands.”
Botswana, on the other hand, will need to grab all three points in Durban and hope that Ethiopia will suffer defeat in Brazzaville in order to go through on goal difference.
Coach Stanley Tshosane says his side know what is expected of them and is counting on his stars who are based in the Premier Soccer League to help his side to settle.
“The situation is quite simple and uncompromising,” he said.
“The fact that Bafana currently have one point more than Botswana at this stage, and are two points behind Ethiopia, and Botswana trail the leaders by three points, is not really significant.
“But what is significant is that both Bafana and Botswana have superior goal differences to that of Ethiopia, and who knows, this could finally be the deciding factor.
“The experience gained by playing in the PSL has been an important factor in the Botswana team's progress, and it won't be anything new for them to play in Durban either.”
The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw with Ofentse Nato cancelling Morgan Gould’s opener but a similar result will not benefit either side on Saturday.
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