“Apart from this being the first home game, it is our second league match of the season,” says coach Steve Komphela. “At some point we have to send a strong message to the opponents.”

The Amakhosi will welcome the unpredictable Platinum Stars at FNB Stadium on Wednesday under the floodlights. Kick-off for this talk of the town match is at 19:30.

“You will never know where you exactly stand until you go through the match,” comments Komphela, while referring to the twelve days Fifa break since his side played their last competitive fixture. That was the 1-0 loss in the MTN8 quarterfinal. “You don't want to come up with excuses, because all the teams went through the same period. We must just guard that the break won’t affect us negatively.”

Kaizer Chiefs will want to forget the home and away matches they lost against Dikwena in the 2015/16 league campaign.

Komphela, however, is not too concerned about what happened in the past, preferring to remain focused on the upcoming game and staying upbeat. “We have been looking at positives and negatives from the first two matches,” explains the Amakhosi coach. “We looked at how we played and how teams approach us, realistically.”

Chiefs will be looking at recording their first win of the season at the expense of the Rustenburg-based Platinum Stars outfit that won their opening league encounter, before losing in their MTN8 encounter.

“We saw them play against Chippa (in the MTN8),” continues Komphela. “When teams play us they often look different. It is a known fact, as they will be playing Chiefs tomorrow. There will be that individual desire to play at a big stage. For most teams this is an important date in the fixtures calendar."

"We have a few niggling injuries," reveals the coach. “The medical team will give us an indication on Emmanuel Letlotlo, but Keagan Buchanan will not be rushed to play in this one.”

Tickets for Wednesday’s clash between Chiefs and Stars are on sale at Computicket and Shoprite/Checkers outlets nationwide at R40 for adults and R10 for children under the age of 12.

Tickets will also be sold before the game at the FNB Stadium, at Gates E and H.