Maritzburg United captain Shu-aib Walters says they are expecting a difficult challenge when they visit the Peter Mokaba Stadium for their next Absa Premiership clash against Black Leopards on Tuesday night.

Lidoda Duvha saw their unbeaten run come to an end when they lost 2-1 to Kaizer Chiefs last Wednesday but Walters believes they saw enough warning signs and are prepared for a tight game.

“We know that Leopards are coming off a loss but in that game they showed that they are a dangerous side, very quick and they pass the ball well, so we’re going there expecting a tough game,” said Walters.

United are currently in second place on the log with eight points after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Free State Stars in their last league outing, and Walters believes they can’t afford to drop more points in succession.

“The fact that we dropped points at home when we had the lead with fifteen minutes to go makes this game a must-win game for us.

“It’s not easy to play Leopards in their own backyard, but these are the games we have to win as a team, it’s not good enough to only take points from big teams, but we also have to beat the ones who are below us.”

Meanwhile, Leopards defender Harry Nyirenda says although they were disappointed after their loss to Chiefs, they have decided to remain in high spirits as they gave the log leaders a run for their money.

“Against Chiefs we played good football but obviously we were not happy with the result,” said Nyirenda.

“We created a lot of chances and we couldn’t bury them, but we’re not going to keep our heads down because we have to move forward and try to correct the mistakes we made.”

Lidoda Duvha are placed ninth on the Absa Premiership log with five points from four matches, and the Malawian international says they are aiming to be unbeatable at home this season.

“This season our first target is to make sure that we don’t lose at home this season, we’ll always try to go for maximum points,” he said.

“Maritzburg United are a good side, they have improved a lot, they are very organised at the back and they can always catch you when you’re not expecting it.

“But we have also improved from last season and we have experienced players and young players who are all hungry for success.”

“We want to be more solid at the back and avoid conceding soft goals, because keeping a clean sheet will give us a better chance of winning the game.”

United have had different sources of goals with Mario Booysen proving to be lethal during setpieces, while Delron Buckley and Cuthbert Malajila are a threat during open play.

Leopards, on the other hand, will be expecting more goals from long-time servant Rodney Ramagalela as well as on-loan strike Brian Amidu, who scored the late consolation against Kaizer Chiefs.

Last season the two sides played to a 0-0 draw in Polokwane, before Raymond Monama’s solitary strike secured maximum points for Leopards in Pietermaritzburg.

Kick-off at 19h30