Petersen anticipates a fiercely competitive Soweto Derby

Petersen is basing this on the current log positions of the teams, with Pirates fighting hard to maintain their top spot on the log in this campaign, and Chiefs looking to consolidate their position in the top three with six games to go. In front of a sold-out FNB Stadium tomorrow, that’s where the battle will be fought.

"I would say yes. If you look at everything so far this season and the stakes, there is fighting for the league and fighting for CAF spots; there is all of that. If you look at the log, there are people coming, so you want to finish as high as you can," said Petersen.

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"You want to secure continental football for next season, so for me, the magnitude of this game I would say is probably one of the most exciting, one of the biggest derbies that I will be playing in because of all the stakes."

"From the first to the last whistle, it's going to be back and forth; it's going to be a fight, but come Sunday, the soldiers will be ready."

Petersen missed the last derby as he was recovering from an appendix surgery and it was Bruce Bvuma who conceded the three goals, during a 3-0 drubbing against their archrivals. But the former Ajax Cape Town and Bidvest Wits goalkeeper says a lot has changed since then.

Part of Amakhosi’s improvement since that derby has been winning five matches in a row and being unbeaten in six league games. Petersen kept his 13th clean sheet in 19 league matches last weekend, in the goalless draw against Polokwane City, and is happy that defensively they’ve been much better this season compared to last season.

Meanwhile, the last two months of the season, and the last six games in particular for Chiefs, are also crucial for Petersen to impress Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos, who had serious intentions to return him to the national squad but was prevented by his absence from the field during the last international camp. With all the players looking forward to the final squad announcement for the World Cup, Petersen says all he can do is continue doing well for his clubs and leave everything else to the national selectors.