South African football's fiercest rivalry is set to reignite this coming Saturday as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates face off in a highly anticipated final for the Nedbank Cup trophy.
The iconic Soweto Derby will determine who lifts the coveted silverware.
RECENT FORM
Chiefs head into this crucial clash following a challenging spell in the Betway Premiership, where they have been unable to secure a victory in their recent seven outings.
In contrast, Pirates arrive in fine form, having registered consecutive two league wins after a minor setback with a 1-0 loss to Sekhukhune United.
The Buccaneers currently sit comfortably in second place on the league standings with 52 points from 23 matches, while Amakhosi are in ninth position with 30 points after 26 games.
LATEST CHAPTER IN THE RIVALRY
The two Soweto giants met just last Saturday in a league encounter at FNB Stadium, with Pirates emerging 2-1 victors.
Glody Lilepo gave Chiefs an early lead in the 2nd minute, but Evidence Makgopa equalized for Pirates in the 24th minute. Relebohile Mofokeng secured the win for Ezimnyama Ngenkani in the second half, keeping their slim league title hopes alive.
This result marked a league double for Pirates over Chiefs this season, following their 1-0 triumph in the first-round fixture, decided by Patrick Maswanganyi's audacious panenka penalty.
A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST DERBY FINAL
The last time these two titans met in a cup final was in 2014. Chiefs defeated their rivals 1-0 in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium, the same venue for this upcoming decider.
Tefu Mashamaite's solitary goal secured the trophy for Chiefs, with the defender having the honour of being the last captain to lift silverware for the club.
That season proved to be a successful one for Chiefs, as they also went on to win the ABSA Premiership title.
COACHES’ PERSPECTIVES
Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi emphasized the importance of minimizing errors in a final.
“As well as how we see it, for efficiency, you need to reduce, as much as you can, the mistakes, the individual mistakes that can happen in a final game, when you make mistakes, it’s hard to come back from it, because everyone knows the cup is there and if you concede one goal, someone can park the bus,” he said.
“So, it will be very hard, so it’s very important to stay concentrated, stay focused for the game and try to make as least mistakes as we can.”
Interestingly, Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi labelled Chiefs as the “favourites” for the clash, highlighting their perceived advantage of being well-rested compared to Pirates' recent midweek league fixture.
“Chiefs are a well-rested team. If you look at the number of games we have played, we have played 48 games, and they have played 34 games,” Ncikazi said.
“Chiefs had a whole week of preparations. We don’t want to fall into the fallacy of thinking that we are the favourites, we are not, but Chiefs are the favourites.”
The Nedbank Cup final between Chiefs and Pirates is scheduled for Saturday, 10 May. The match will kick off at 15:30 at the sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Kaizer Chiefs: Bvuma, Solomons, Miguel, Kwinika, Dove, Cele, Maart, Sirino, Mmodi, Lilepo, Duba
Orlando Pirates: Chaine, Van Rooyen, Sibisi, Mbokazi, Hotto, Makhaula, Mbatha, Maswanganyi, Mofokeng, Nkota, Makgopa
