Sundowns have slight advantage over Pirates – Pitso

Mosimane believes that beating Bidvest Wits 3-2 in the semifinal of the Nedbank Cup this past weekend makes Masandawana better equipped than the Buccaneers who will be playing their first game since the suspension of the 2019/20 season.

“It is tough and it is a difficult space. Yes, we have got a little bit of information ahead of Orlando Pirates to be honest. We can say we have a little bit of an advantage because we know football under Covid-19,” said Mosimane.

“We are playing a team that was resting and watching us when we had people who got hamstring injuries. But the advantage is that we have played and the disadvantage is that we are playing a well-rested team. It is a big game but it won’t be the same game that you saw before,” Mosimane added.

“We can now comment about football under Covid-19, we know it now but if you have not played you cannot talk. If you haven’t suffered a muscle injury like we had on Sphelele Mkhulise, you don’t understand. Rivaldo Coetzee was on the edge and you can even substitute important players like Themba Zwane and Sibusiso Vilakazi,” Mosimane said.

He added: “You cannot comment until you are in it, so only four teams [Sundowns, Bidvest Wits, Baroka FC and Bloemfontein Celtic) can talk about football during Covid-19, those who have not played cannot comment, they must comment after. I don’t know how many times I asked the referee if I still had a substitute, they said ‘yes you have but you only have two to use because you have already made two’, it is confusing. You might know the rules but once you are under stress and under pressure, everything goes out of your mind. That is football under Covid-19, it is going to be tough.”

The game at Dobsonville Stadium is set to kick off at 6pm.