Steve Barker is hoping to draw belief from Sunday’s win over Orlando Pirates when his side takes on league-leaders Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday evening.

Stellenbosch will return to DStv Premiership action following their 1-0 MTN8 semi-final second leg win (2-2 aggregate defeat on the away goals rule) over Orlando Pirates over the weekend when they take on table-topping Mamelodi Sundowns at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium.

Ahead of the encounter, head coach Steve Barker revealed that his side had drawn a lot of confidence from their victory over the Buccaneers and that preparations had gone well ahead of the highly-anticipated mid-week clash against Mamelodi Sundowns.

“It’s back to the league which is obviously important,” he said. “We are in a position on the log where we don’t want to be so it is an important match for us, off the back of a really good performance against Pirates away in Orlando which is never easy.

“We always knew it wouldn’t be easy coming up to Gauteng for back-to-back matches against Pirates and Sundowns but I think we can take belief from our last performance into Wednesday’s game.

“Preparations have gone well and the mood is upbeat after the victory over Pirates, so we’re looking forward to the encounter, albeit a difficult one. With such a short turnaround time, it’s been more about rest and regeneration, with a bit of tactical work here and there just to give us the best possible chance.

“But like I said, the mood is upbeat, it’s always nice to play against the defending champions who are the benchmark of South African football currently. It’s always nice to play against them and to hopefully we can put up a big performance.”

Kick-off for Wednesday’s encounter is scheduled for 19h30 and the match will be broadcast / streamed on SuperSport OTT and ShowMax platforms.