Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has urged his team to maintain their high standards when they host MC Alger in the second leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinals at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday, April 9. Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2), live on SuperSport.
Current form:
The Buccaneers are fighting on three fronts as the season enters its final two months, with a possibility that they can still win the Betway Premiership, the Nedbank Cup and Africa's elite club competition.
Riveiro's side won a historic third successive MTN 8 trophy at the start of the campaign and they beat Polokwane City in the league on April 5 to close within 12 points of table-topping Mamelodi Sundowns with three games in hand.
The Sea Robbers also have a Ke Yona semifinal against Marumo Gallants to look forward to on April 13 after eliminated SuperSport United on penalties a month ago in the last eight.
But most impressively, Pirates returned from Algiers last week with an advantage as they ran out 1-0 victors over El Mouloudia in the first leg of their African tie, having scored an all-important away goal.
The Algerian champions lead the way in their domestic league once more, although they saw a three match winning streak come to an end with a 2-2 draw against Khenchela on March 15.
The reverse to the Soweto giants was only their second loss in Africa this term and also only the second time Khaled Ben Yahia's side had conceded a goal on home soil.
What was said:
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro
"Yeah, nobody can question that we are not trying in each and every game. I mean we are not giving up in any competition, we want to win no matter what happens, no matter what the opponents do.
"We are gonna try to be at a level that we must be in each and every game and everything including the numbers, mathematics tells us that you cannot stop going up, we will try until the end, until the last day if it's possible."
Players to watch:
Orlando Pirates - Mohau Nkota continues to impress in his breakout season for Bucs after scoring the winner at the Stade du 5 Juillet last week. It was the 20-year-old winger's third goal in the competition from six appearances, while he's also found the back of the net twice in 17 top-flight outings since making his debut against Richards Bay on September 29.
MC Alger - Mohamed Saliou Bangoura has hit the ground running for El Mouloudia since being brought in to replace Ismail Belkacemi in February, scoring two goals in his first three league games. The 20-year-old striker led the line against Pirates in the first leg and will be hoping to be a bigger threat in Soweto as he gets used to the rigors of African football.
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 1
Pirates wins - 1
MC Alger wins - 0
Draws - 0