Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has given an injury update ahead of the Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs.
The two giants of South African football face each other on Sunday in the second derby of the season. The first round saw the Buccaneers defeat their archrivals 3-0.
Ahead of the derby, Ncikazi confirmed that Tapelo Xoki and Sihle Nduli will miss the anticipated clash.
“The standard injuries that we still have – Xoki is still doing rehab, Sihle Nduli is also doing his rehab,” he said.
“I haven’t seen anybody [new] also in the doctor’s bed. I think we will have a clean bill of health except for the two main injuries that are known.”
Orlando Pirates preparing for Derby
Ncikazi was confident ahead of the clash, with his team having secured big wins in the past few weeks.
“Preparations are going well, preparing for a very big match, the biggest in the continent,” he said.
“The beauty of this match it’s going to be highly competitive, based on the fact that if you were to take a sample of the last seven matches, five wins for both teams, 29 goals [sic. 19] scored by our team, 12 by the opponents.”
The Pirates coach is wary of Chiefs ahead of the derby, highlighting their defensive record.
“They have conceded only three goals, we have conceded four. From that point it already indicates, how narrow the match will be – highly competitive match, we are preparing to win.
“Knowing who we are, knowing the magnitude of the game and knowing the importance of the points that we must get in the match,” Ncikazi said as per iDiski Times.