All eyes will be on the Tshwane derby this evening to see if the University of Pretoria can pull an upset against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
The two teams are scheduled to get this year's Nedbank Cup quarterfinal matches underway in what is expected to be an action-packed weekend of exciting football.
Although Tuks will be without in-form Thabang Sibanyoni and Promise Mkhuma who are on loan from Sundowns due to contractual agreements, the promotion chasers are not a side to be deterred with no matter how tough the situation is.
Having done it against Kaizer Chiefs in 2009 when they knocked them out of the prestigious competition in the Last 16, the second-placed Motsepe Foundation Championship side isn't getting distracted by the thought of facing arguably the best team in Africa, according to defender Tshepiso Mahlangu.
Tuks have already defeated a top flight side in Moroka Swallows in the previous round.
However, they know it will be a different ball game against Sundowns who have been unstoppable in different competitions locally and on the continent.
The Good
"The preparations have been going well for us. The team is in good spirits knowing that we're playing against one of the best teams not only in South Africa but on the continent too. All credit goes to the technical team and management of the club, they have definitely prepared us well for all the games that we've faced this season. As a squad we've always ensured that we don't look too far ahead and just focus on one game at a time," said Mahlangu, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
The Bad
On the assumption that it could be a walkover for Downs
"The underdog tag doesn't bother us at all, we are used to it and of course everyone is an underdog when they face a team of Mamelodi Sundowns' stature," the centre-back said.
The Ugly
Aren't your worried that your progress in the cup might affect your chances of promotion in the league?
"We don't even look at it that way. We just want to be competitive in every match that we play even in the training matches, and I think it's that mentality that has brought us this far and that's how we'll approach the remaining fixtures," Mahlangu concluded.
"That tells you about the quality of the team"
Tuks coach Tlisane Motaung says the aim for his side is to go there and gauge themselves against the defending champions.
"We take it one game at a time, and we try by all means to pay attention to details. We are aware that an opponent such as Sundonws has been great this season. I mean, they haven't lost a match and that tells you about the quality of the team that we will be playing against. But more than anything, we are going to learn and assess ourselves. In terms of the balance for the two competitions (league and cup), in our planning before pre-season, we decided on making sure that we increased the size of the squad. We did so to make sure that we could compete in both competitions and fortunately, so far it has worked according to our plans although we know that both competitions are difficult. We know that there is nobody who is going to make it any easy for us, but we have given ourselves at least an opportunity to compete, and particularly against a great team on the continent," said the mentor.
Can Tuks upset Downs to progress in Nedbank Cup?
