Pirates and Chiefs on a mission to qualify for Champions League

The Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs is anticipated to be a highly competitive tie, with both sides looking to increase their hopes of Caf Champions League spot when they meet in a DStv Premiership tie at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

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Bucs and Chiefs are way behind in the race for the league title, with the Buccaneers sitting in fifth place with 30 points, while Amakhosi are in sixth spot having accumulated 29 points after 19 games. The pair are 12 and 13 points respectively behind runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

A second-place finish and qualification for the Champions League seems much more possible for one of the two Soweto giants, which makes maximum points vital for either team this coming weekend.

The two coaches, Cavin Johnson of Amakhosi and Jose Riveiro of the Buccaneers, admitted to an eagerness to get back to playing in continental football, particularly Chiefs, who last played at the tournament in the 2020/21 season – where they lost the final to Al Ahly.

Johnson believes a win against Pirates will give them a push to try and win the rest of their matches in the league.

“It’s been one of the team’s objectives for a long time now (playing in the Caf Champions League). If we can do this one (win against Pirates) on Saturday, it will give us a lot more to play for, but there are still a lot of games to play in the league,” said the Amakhosi coach during the derby press conference on Thursday.

“But if we do get a positive result on Saturday, it will put us in good standing.”

‘It’s much more than three points.’

Riveiro says that aside from getting three points, which will help them attain their ultimate goal (the Champions League), and the simple fact that this is a derby, the clash against the Glamour Boys also allows them to redeem themselves after their result against Cape Town Spurs.

The Buccaneers played to a 1-1 draw with the Urban Warriors at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

“It will help us to collect the points we need to achieve our objective, which is to play the Champions League next season. But it’s obviously much more than three points. It’s one of those games that puts everybody together, fans, teams, players, and just everything,” said Riveiro.

“Again, it’s a nice opportunity after a poor performance yesterday (Wednesday night) to show what we are capable of doing on the day. I cannot see any better opportunity than this one.”

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The last time the two sides met the Sea Robbers won 1-0, courtesy of an Evidence Makgopa goal.