“The break was just what the doctor ordered,” captain Siphiwe ‘Shabba’ Tshabalala says with a big smile on his face after their pre-match training session on Monday.

Kaizer Chiefs have not seen competitive football since 20 March when they faced Côte d’Ivoire’s Asec Mimosas in Abidjan in the CAF Champions League. “The break gave us an opportunity to push hard at training and to bond as a team. We are recharged and ready.”

Mpumalanga Black Aces host Amakhosi at Nelspruit’s Mbombela Stadium tonight, Tuesday, 12 April 2016 (kick-off is at 19:30).

“We are looking forward to the game,” commented Tshabalala. “We want to get back to winning ways.”

An upbeat ‘Shabba’ is optimistic and fancies his side’s chances against AmaZayoni, who are placed fifth on the Absa Premiership log with 37 points from 23 matches.

“We always respect our opponents,” continues Tshabalala. “They play good football and they have excellent ball players in their ranks. Collins Mbesuma is one of their players to watch while we don’t lose track on the rest of their team.”

Chiefs have claimed 18 points from 11 away matches this season and Tshabalala and his teammates are looking at winning the Q4-innovation: “We want to win the Q4-innovation starting with a win against Aces tonight. We will not dwell much on the league standings at this stage, we are focusing on winning games.”

Reneilwe Letsholonyane is the only player who’s still out, as he’s recovering from a knee injury.

Amakhosi are placed fourth on the Absa Premiership log with 39 points from 23 matches. In head-to-head stats, Chiefs and Aces have met in 33 league matches since 1985.

The Amakhosi have 23 wins compared to five for AmaZayoni, while five matches have been drawn. Aces have won two of their 16 home league matches against Chiefs, suffering 10 defeats in the process.