Davids hoping familiar stadium will help Pirates against Al-Ittihad

Fadlu Davids believes coming up against Al-Ittihad will be a tough task for Orlando Pirates, but says playing at a familiar ground will make things a bit easier for them.

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Bucs will meet Ittihad in a Group B clash of the Caf Confederation Cup at the Martyrs Of February Stadium in Libya on Sunday.

Pirates played at the very same venue against Al-Ahly Benghazi last season, where they were able to walk away with a point after playing to a goalless draw in the group stages of the Confed Cup.

“It is a very tough opponent that we are going to face, but what is familiar is that we are going to the same stadium where we played last season against Al-Ahly Benghazi. So we know where we are going and what type of pitch we are going to play. It is just now finalising the finer details of the team, how they play and how we can approach the game. But it will be a tough game coming up,” said Davids this week.

With almost all the players at the club back fully fit, the competition for a place in the starting line-up is very high, which is a positive sign for Davids.

“This is the first time where we have 95 to 98% player availability. Everyone is back and you could see a difference in the training sessions where everybody is fighting for a place and in the first round we did not have that. A lot of players were not available and the team is moving in the right direction.”

The Buccaneers head into the Northern African following a positive start into the new year, with the Soweto giants recording two wins and one draw in their last three games.

One of their victories came in the hands of Algeria outfit JS Soura in their opening game of the continental tournament, where they walked away as 2-0 winners at home.

The Soweto giants currently lead Group B standings with three points and they will surely be aiming for maximum points or at least a point away from home to extend their lead.