Pirates not treating Sundowns tie as anything special

Orlando Pirates will be looking to make home advantage count when they welcome Mamelodi Sundowns to the Orlando Stadium for the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal tie on Saturday afternoon.

The Buccaneers have a terrible record against the Brazilians in recent times, losing their last five meetings in all competitions as part of a winless run stretching back six games.

Pirates won the competition as recently as 2020, their 10th title, and they will be aiming to reach the final for the fourth time in 10 years.

Jose Riveiro's side booked their place in the last four by beating Royal AM 2-1 in the quarterfinals, thanks to goals from Vincent Pule (3') and Thabiso Monyane (55').

Riveiro insists their recent struggles against Sundowns will have no bearing on the cup tie and is adamant they will treat it like any other game.

"The past two seasons are not going to play this semifinal. We are going to try to be ourselves and build on our own identity," the Spaniard said.

"We will approach it like we generally do all matches. We will try to have a good day. Nothing will be decided on the day. But we hope for the best. But you have to understand that it is a 180 minutes game."

The defending champions appear to be hitting their stride after a less than stellar start to the campaign, which saw them suffer two defeats in their opening five DStv Premiership outings.

Masandawana have surged to the top of the league standings after winning their last three matches, while they kicked off their MTN8 title defence with a 2-0 victory over Tshwane rivals SuperSport United.

Downs lifted the trophy for the fourth time when they beat Cape Town City on penalties in the 2021 final - only their second appearance in the last decade.

Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe is backing the club to enjoy another successful campaign after winning the domestic treble last term.

"We will continue to support our coaches and support the players and the vision that our coaches and technical team have for the club," Motsepe said.

"We are always striving for success and winning trophies, so we will continue to push on and hopefully, when we look back at the end of the season, we can say that it was another successful one."

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

ORLANDO PIRATES

Phillip Ndlondlo: The 27-year-old midfielder is in-line to make his debut following his switch from Marumo Gallants on transfer deadline day. Ndlondlo scored one goal in six league appearances for Bahlabane Ba Ntwa before being prized away by the Buccaneers and he'll be itching to get off the mark for his new employers against the best team in the country.

Bienvenu Eva Nga: The 29-year-old Cameroonian striker's imposing stature could come in handy against the Brazilians. Nga hasn't started since the 1-0 defeat to Maritzburg United on 4 September, although he did come off the bench to make his eighth appearance of the season in the 2-0 win over TS Galaxy.

MAMELODI SUNDOWNS

Peter Shalulile: The 28-year-old Namibian striker may have gone goalless in his first two outings of the campaign, but he hasn't looked back since, finding the back of the net six times in his next seven league games to lead the scoring charts once more. He failed to get on the scoresheet in the MTN8 quarterfinals, but will be determined to get up and running against Pirates.

Marcelo Allende: The 23-year-old Chilean midfielder has already made a big impact since his arrival during the off-season, scoring two goals in five league appearances, while also finding the target against SuperSport in the previous round of the cup competition.