Kaizer Chiefs will be looking to complete a league double over Maritzburg United when they host the Team of Choice in their final DStv Premiership clash of 2021 at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday evening at 19h30.

Chiefs’ five-game unbeaten run in the league came to an end in their last league clash against Royal AM over the weekend and Amakhosi will be looking for an immediate response and to end the 2021 calendar year with a win which would take Chiefs into second spot in the standings heading into Christmas.

Chiefs are well aware of the importance of the three points on offer as they reach the halfway stage of the season, but Amakhosi are equally aware that Maritzburg have been tricky customers in the last few years and they will be looking to ensure there are no slip ups in their last home fixture of the year.

Amakhosi defeated Maritzburg 1-0 when the teams met at the Harry Gwala Stadium on the 21^st November, courtesy of a Bernard Parker goal.

Amakhosi have already won four games at home this season, while all of last season they managed three home wins.

Chiefs have also won thirteen points at home this campaign, while of all last season they won just sixteen points from fifteen games, so the vast signs of improvement this season are clear to see.

The Gold & Black are targeting their first league double over Maritzburg United since the 2017-18 campaign, when they recorded 2-0 home and away victories over them.

Overall, Chiefs have dominated this fixture. Over the previous 31 league clashes between the teams, Chiefs have managed to pick up fourteen wins, with Maritzburg winning seven games and ten matches ending in a draw.

At home Chiefs have been able to win nine of the fifteen games in which they have hosted Martizburg, losing four times and drawing two.

The chances of a winner in this fixture are high, as the last eight league meetings between the teams hosted by Chiefs have produced a winner, with Chiefs winning six of those games.

The last time a match between the sides with Chiefs as hosts ended in a draw was way back during the 2012-13 season, the game ending 1-1 on the 13^th April 2013.

Current Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter had never previously defeated Maritzburg in an away league game until this season, but at home, he has an almost perfect record against them. That encounter in April 2013 is the only time he did not win, as he did manage to oversee home wins against them in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

This has over the 16 years since the teams first squared off been a game that has produced a total of 68 goals in 31 previous league clashes, at 2,19 goals per game.

Chiefs have outscored Maritzburg 43 goals to 25 in the league and will look to continue that trend on Wednesday. Chiefs’ biggest win over Maritzburg was a 6-1 home win during the 2006-07 season, which ironically came with current Maritzburg coach Ernst Middendorp at the helm of Chiefs.

Another Chiefs win will see Amakhosi complete a league double over Maritzburg for a fourth time, along with the 2006-07, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.