Usuthu's revenge? KZN outfit gear up to take on Pirates anew

AmaZulu will be seeking redemption from being knocked out from the Nedbank Cup in their next DStv Premiership encounter when they take on Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday evening, 20 April.

Kick-off is at 5:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).

CURRENT FORM

The two sides faced each other recently in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal, where Orlando Pirates walked away with a 4-2 win against the KZN outfit. The Buccaneers hit a bit of a slump in the league, but picked up after thrashing Golden Arrows 7-1 and are third on the log.

AmaZulu have been struggling to find consistency in the league and are sitting at 12th position, however their last outing shows a sign of improvement as they beat Cape Town City 1-0 and their display against Pirates was impressive.

WHAT WAS SAID

Sea Robbers coach Jose Riveiro does not want his players to get complacent since they’ve already beaten Usuthu recently.

“We are trying not to have distractions or think this game is more important than the next one. In this environment, we must play a lot of games in different competitions,” Riveiro said.

Riveiro also mentioned that it's important for the team to score first this time so that they can control the game more effectively.

Getting “revenge” against Pirates won’t exactly get AmaZulu back into the running for the Nedbank Cup but coach Pablo Franco Martin sees this next clash as an opportunity to do better.

“Of course, everyone is disappointed but the good thing is that we have another opportunity to play them again,” said the tactician.

“It is an away game, so it will be even more difficult because we are facing Pirates at Orlando Stadium and we already know that they are not only the best team in South Africa but in the whole continent.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Patrick Maswanganyi, Orlando Pirates - The attacking midfielder scored a brace (including a penalty) in the last fixture and the team will back him to bring out his scoring boots once again in this league encounter.

Hendrick Ekstein, AmaZulu - Also an attacking midfielder, Ekstein was instrumental in Usuthu’s previous outing against the Bucs and got his name on the scoresheet with the first goal of the game. A replication of his last performance could prove vital in his team’s hopes.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

LAST 10 LEAGUE RESULTS

Season Result Scorers

2018/19 Pirates 4-1 AmaZulu Mahachi, Memela, Shonga, Motshwari; Ncobeni 2019/20 AmaZulu 0-0 Pirates

2019/20 Pirates 1-0 AmaZulu Pule

2020/21 AmaZulu 1-1 Pirates Majoro; Mhango (pen)

2020/21 Pirates 1-0 AmaZulu Mhango

2021/22 AmaZulu 1-1 Pirates Moremi; Hotto

2021/22 Pirates 2-1 AmaZulu Peprah 2; Memela

2022/23 Pirates 1-1 AmaZulu Mothwa (og); Maduna (pen)

2022/23 AmaZulu 0-4 Pirates Monyane, Mofokeng, Saleng, Dlamini

2023/24 AmaZulu 0-0 Pirates