Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana says the players are always afraid to face Kaizer Chiefs, though they relish the challenge of doing so. 

Sundowns meet Chiefs in the opening game of the Premiership season on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium from 15:00 in the afternoon. 

Going into the encounter, the Brazilians are in good form having beaten AS Togo-Port in a CAF Champions League clash as well as winning the Shell Cup against the Glamour Boys. 

As such, Kekana says playing against a side as big as Amakhosi is a daunting prospect but also very motivating at the same time. 

Speaking to Kickoff, he said: "As players we always look forward to playing against Chiefs, even though it's a scary feeling, but we love it. We just want to go there and apply ourselves. 

"We are always scared to play Chiefs. It won't be an easy task, but we will try do our best. We need to do the business on the day." 

Kekana added that facing former team-mates Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Leonardo Castro and Khama Billiat was inspiring, saying: "We lost so many important players to Chiefs and it pains me to play against them, and sometimes I forget that they are no longer my team-mates because I hug them and I still talk to them. 

"But on the day I need to be professional. I need to take this soft spot that I have for them and be mean on the day."