All systems go for crunch Carling Knockout quarterfinal between Chiefs and Sundowns

There will be no love lost when Kaizer Chiefs host rivals Mamelodi Sundowns in their highly anticipated Carling Knockout quarterfinal at FNB Stadium on Saturday (6pm).

The two teams meet on the back of contrasting midweek league results where Amakhosi needed a late brace from Mduduzi Shabalala to salvage a draw with rookies Magesi in Polokwane. 

On the other hand, the Brazilians were at their rampant best as they produced a polished 3-0 win over Cape Town City at Loftus where Peter Shalulile scored twice and Lucas Ribeiro got the other. 

Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi said he expects sparks to fly like when they met in the league a few weeks ago where Sundowns came from a goal down to win 2-1 at the same venue. 

“If you look at the last game against Sundowns, I felt it was a good game of football with a lot of entertainment and it was also technically and tactically very good from both sides,” said Nabi. 

“We know that both teams will be going all out to win the game and qualify for the next round of the tournament. Sundowns is one of the biggest teams in Africa, but this doesn’t take away the fact that we are Kaizer Chiefs.” 

To be able to get the better of Sundowns, Nabi will rely on performances from key players like Rushwin Dortley, Inácio Miguel, Samkelo Zwane, Gaston Sirino and Ranga Chivaviro on the attack. 

“We are coming into this game with a lot of confidence and we will do everything to win this game and make it to the next stage of the tournament. We are confident with our abilities.” 

From the visiting camp, Komphela said there will be a lot of expectations from fans for the match to explode like it did a few weeks ago. 

“It is going to be an exciting match. Because of the fact that it will be round two, people can have sort of expectation. There is more of a measure based on what happened a few weeks ago. 

“Indeed, it was an exciting match with an early goal Kaizer Chiefs and in front of a packed stadium with good ambience and we expect the same. I think we have a responsibility to stay calm so that we can see ourselves through the match.” 

Sundowns coaches are going to rely on key players like Ronwen Williams, Grant Kekana, Mosa Lebusa, Teboho Mokoena, Marcelo Allende, Lebogang Maboe, Lucas Ribeiro and Peter Shalulile.