Defending league champions Mamelodi Sundowns face an examination they would expect to pass on Thursday evening when they host strugglers Platinum Stars at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
The match comes at a time when the pressure is on, but Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane says it is not the time to "get emotional" and states his side must simply focus on the task at hand.
Stars were, for a period, the bogey side for Sundowns and enjoyed regular success against Mosimane's men. But since winning a Nedbank Cup clash in 2015 on their way to lifting the trophy that year, Sundowns have won four and drawn two of the last six meetings between the clubs -- though three of those wins have been by single goal margins.
Sundowns trail leaders BidVest Wits, who are also in action on Thursday at home to Orlando Pirates, by a single point with both sides having five matches remaining in the campaign.
But it was their lacklustre performance in the 1-0 loss to Wits on Monday night that will have coach Mosimane worried.
It took Sundowns 80 minutes to get a shot on target and continued a trend this season where they have battled to turn matches around having gone a goal down.
The last time they did so was against Kaizer Chiefs in November when their former defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele put AmaKhosi ahead, only for Tebogo Langerman and Sibusiso Vilakazi to rescue the day for the Tshwane side.
Mosimane says there is no panic within his team following the loss against their major title contender, but he will know full well that another defeat, and a potential four-point deficit, would be difficult to overturn in the closing weeks of the campaign.
"There's pressure on everybody," he admitted. "It [the championship] was in Cape Town City's hands, then it was in our hands and now it's in Wits' hands.
"We have to try to win against Platinum Stars and keep going. Football is not about who has the easier run. Maybe it will go to the end [of the season]. I've got Highlands Park and they've got Chiefs. So we'll see, don't get emotional."