Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi does not want to be drawn into whether his team will win the Soweto Derby or not this weekend.
Chiefs host arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the second Soweto Derby of the season on Saturday, having lost the first one 1-0, courtesy of Patrick Maswanganyi’s last minute penalty on February 1.
With his team going six league matches without a win, which has seen them drop out of the top eight, there is massive pressure on Nabi and his Chiefs players to return to winning ways against Pirates but the veteran coach appears not sure if a victory is possible.
Who will win the Soweto Derby?
“If Kaizer Chiefs wins the derby on Saturday, it’s not gonna be a surprise,” Nabi told the media as quoted by iDiski Times.
“If Orlando Pirates as well wins the derby it’s not gonna be a surprise as well. Those are the two biggest clubs in South Africa.
“Despite our current log standing, we believe that two big clubs are gonna play on Saturday even if we are not in a very good position. But we feel that whoever wins on Saturday, it’s because he has deserved it.”
Nabi not giving up just yet
Nabi then weighed in on the challenges currently facing his team who are on course to another poor season as they lie ninth on the table following a run of inconsistent results.
“We say that the biggest clubs can get ill, but they never die, but we believe that the biggest club in South Africa probably at this time, we might be a little bit ill, but we believe that we are still alive and we can do something,” he added.
Nabi and his team need to do something on Saturday by recording a victory that has eluded them since March 2023 with Pirates winning the last four Soweto Derbies before next weekend’s Nedbank Cup final when the two sides will meet again.
