Match starts 1430 BST Saturday
South Africa aim to put more daylight between themselves and England when they take on New Zealand in Grenada.
England are their main rivals for a semi-final place and victory over the Kiwis would give them a four-point buffer before they meet on Tuesday.
New Zealand go into the game after a loss to Sri Lanka and they expect South Africa to be equally tough opponents.
"They are more orthodox - but they are incredibly competent in what they do," skipper Stephen Fleming commented.
"We have had a good run so far at the tournament. Against Sri Lanka was the first time we were really tested and put under pressure and we didn't come through. It's disappointing but we are a better side than that.
"We can play a hell of a lot better than we have. This time rebounds well and knows when it plays poorly. We don't have much time to train but most of it is mental and we'll get that right," he added.
New Zealand may recall off-spinner Jeetan Patel in place of seam bowler Mark Gillespie, who proved expensive against Sri Lanka in his first game of the tournament.
And they are also likely to look at ways of making room for Hamish Marshall in their batting line-up after Ross Taylor was out for a duck in his first innings after a three-match lay-off because of injury.
South Africa's powerful top order was the key to success in their last match against West Indies when they piled up a total of 356-4.
They expect to have to work harder for their runs against an attack including Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori but skipper Graeme Smith is in positive mood.
"New Zealand have played well in the tournament, and they're a pretty balanced team. They bat pretty low and they have a lot of options in their bowling department.
"But if we can play the type of game we played against West Indies, allowing ourselves the freedom to play that way, setting up opportunities to attack, it will bode well," he commented.
When the teams met at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, it was New Zealand who came out on top - by nine wickets in a rain-affected match - as Fleming hit a magnificent 134 not out off 132 balls.
Overall, however, South Africa have the upper hand with 27 wins against New Zealand's 15 in previous meetings.
New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (capt), Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Jeetan Patel, Shane Bond, Hamish Marshall, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Chris Martin.
South Africa (from): Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Kemp, Robin Peterson, Roger Telemachus, Charl Langeveldt.
Umpires: M Benson (Eng), D Harper (Aus)
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