Chiefs’ Nabi – we are confident

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi says his side are confident they can beat Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday at FNB Stadium and reach the Carling Black Label Knockout semifinals.

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Chiefs pushed Sundowns to the wire in a Betway Premiership clash at the same venue on September 28. Amakhosi lost that match 2-1, but held their own against the best team in the country.

Nabi – we will do everything to win

“If you remember the last game against Sundowns, it was a very good game of football,” said Nabi this week at the Premier Soccer League offices in Parktown.

“There was a lot of entertainment, technically and tactically for both teams.

“We hope and believe this game is (also) going to be entertaining for all South African fans.

“Sundowns have been one of the biggest teams in Africa over these last years. But that doesn’t take away the fact that we are Chiefs. We are coming into this game with a lot of confidence and we will do everything to win this game and qualify (for the semifinals).

“We are confident in our abilities.”

Chiefs have had a difficult week on the field. They picked up just one point from league games against SuperSport United and Magesi FC.

Nabi has consistently emphasised that he needs time to build a team capable of challenging on a consistent basis, especially in the Premiership, where Amakhosi finished 10^th last season.

“I am here to fulfil a mission that has steps,” said Nabi, who was hired by Chiefs after their disappointing 2023/24 campaign.

“The first is a transition period. We are not saying that to cover ourselves because of results, negative or positive.

“(But) there are some (in the) media trying to portray Chiefs as a contender for the league immediately. That is not the case.

“There have been (nearly) ten years without a trophy. Last season was probably the worst in Chiefs’ history, they finished 10^th.

“The long term project is to become the Kaizer Chiefs everyone wants to see, on top of the table and challenging for every trophy.

Chiefs’ Nabi – we don’t want to create chaos

“We need to go methodically with what we want to do and don’t want to create chaos or misunderstanding with our fans. We promise them we are going to do everything we can to reach that level as quickly as possible.”

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Chiefs will be boosted in defence against Sundowns by the return of Angolan centre back Inacio Miguel. Miguel was suspended for one match after picking up four bookings in the season. He missed the 2-2 draw with Magesi on Wednesday.

Former Sundowns star Gaston Sirino is also set to return to the Amakhosi starting line up. Sirino came off the bench in the second half against Magesi.