Eyes on Pirates, Chiefs and Sundowns as Nedbank Cup continues

Eyes will mostly be fixed on Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns with their respective tricky fixtures this weekend as the Nedbank Cup last-16 round continues. 

Action starts with the Buccaneers returning to Orlando Stadium for the first time since they stunned Egyptian giants Al Ahly 2-1 during the group stages of the Champions League early last month to host Baroka at 3pm. 

Since beating Al Ahly, Pirates have played four matches in all competitions away from home and coach Jose Riveiro is happy to enjoy the comfort of home where they have proved to be difficult to beat. 

“We had a little bit of time this week to prepare for this match and we are happy to be back at Orlando Stadium,” said the Pirates coach. 

“The last time we played there was during our Champions League group stages match game against Al Ahly last month. It has been a while since we played at our ground.

“We are well prepared for the type of opponent that we are going to face.” 

Chiefs continues the quest for their first piece of silverware in 10 years when they host highly unpredictable Chippa United at FNB Stadium (6pm) and coach Nasreddine Nabi is expecting a tough match. 

“Our club Kaizer Chiefs have the desire to go as far as we can or even until the end. It is always a difficult game and we can’t rely on the last result that we got against Chippa in the league. 

“We expect a difficult game on Saturday but we are well prepared. We have done our due diligence and we have set our tactical and technical aspects for our game. We hope that our performance will be good against a difficult Chippa side.” 

On Sunday, it will be the turn of Sundowns who host Limpopo-based ABC Motsepe League side Mpheni Home Defenders where they will be guarding against slipping on a banana skin. 

“It is a cliché but it’s exactly what we have to say on an occasion like this. It is a team that comes with an ambition and a dream and it is our job not to allow that dream to become a reality at our expense. 

“We need to focus and face this match in a serious way, worry about what we have to do on the pitch and control the match.

“These kind of matches are always tricky, the ones that think they are stronger must respect and show why they are stronger. We are going to focus on our attitude so that we do what we have to do and achieve our mission of going through to the next stage.” 

Meanwhile, TS Galaxy were on Friday dumped out of the tournament by determined Motsepe Championship side Durban United who came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Chatsworth Stadium in Durban. 

Full Last 16 Fixtures 

Saturday: Gallants v AmaZulu (3pm), Pirates v Baroka (3pm), Chiefs v Chippa (6pm) 

Sunday: Sundowns v Mpheni Home Defenders (3pm)