This weekend throws up four very tasty cup matches after two rounds of league action in the first six days since the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season got underway. There are so many talking points, not least the small matter of whether Molefi Ntseki can be the man to end Kaizer Chiefs' eight-year trophy drought. Orlando Pirates are looking to defend the crown they won back in December 2022, whilst Mamelodi Sundowns, ever the dominant force, will want to get back to winning domestic cups. Their rivals SuperSport United, meanwhile, are already looking good and so are Cape Town City. Then we have the former Brazilians' "Senior Coach", later "First Team Coach", Steve Komphela, testing his wits against his erstwhile protégé in Rhulani Mokwena, whom he later took orders from in the Downs coaching set-up. That will be a very tasty and intriguing battle as the ambitious Moroka Swallows look to win a first piece of silverware since their 2012 MTN8 triumph. In this preview, Soccer Laduma looks at the key men to watch in each fixture and one crucial tactical aspect that will require special focus. By Monday, we will know the identity of the four semi-finalists and which teams have been eliminated and will have to wait until December for their next possible shot at lifting a trophy. Wafa Wafa!
Mamelodi Sundowns v Moroka Swallows
12 August, Lucas Moripe Stadium, 15h00
Players To Watch
Themba Zwane
He may be 34 years old now, but "Mshishi" is showing no real signs of slowing down. He performed superbly last season in a very demanding role – at the top of a midfield diamond. So much of Sundowns' play funnelled through him and yet he was almost always in the tightest of spaces between the lines. If there is one area where his numbers dropped, it was in his goalscoring. He netted six goals last term across all competitions (three in the league, three in the CAF Champions League), but his minutes-to-goal ratio was 462 minutes per strike. That was quite a drop-off to the previous three seasons, where he scored 37 goals combined at just 250 minutes per goal. This season, the Brazilians' new shape sees him as one of two number 10s and providing more width to the team's play. With the threat in wide areas, opponents won't just be able to sit narrow and squeeze the Tembisa-born player's space. That could give him the room to excel and to score goals at his usual rate. That brings us to the man who could be tasked with stopping him…
Andile Jali
The midfielder who earned the nickname "Gattuso" during his Orlando Pirates days will have a massive point to prove to his former employers. After falling out of favour in February – around the time that reports emerged about his off-field conduct – the Tshwane giants parted ways with him in late May. This is the 2021/22 DStv Premiership Midfielder of the Season who also won the Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament and the MTN8 Last Man Standing awards that season. At his best, arguably no midfielder in the country can match the Matatiele-born man. Steve Komphela handed him the captain's armband for the opening day 1-1 draw at Golden Arrows and his partnership with Lantshene Phalane – two 33-year-olds – will be key to Moroka Swallows having a chance of an upset come Saturday. The game probably comes a few weeks earlier than is ideal for Jali, who is still a long way off full match fitness. He only featured for around 900 minutes last season and was taken off at Mpumalanga Stadium last weekend. Komphela praised his display in that match, saying, "He did well. He controlled the team. He gives the team the personality that we wish to see when we're going forward."
Rhulani's New Formation vs. His Mentor
This match pits Rhulani Mokwena against his mentor in Komphela. Aside from all the respect between the two coaches, a bigger talking point is how well the Dube Birds mentor may know the tactics which Downs tend to prefer. Komphela would have sat in on video sessions, corrections and technical team meetings where the team's weaknesses would have been discussed. He will know which areas to target and what sort of opposition set-ups tend to give the Chloorkop-based outfit a problem. For Mokwena, he must decide who replaces the suspended Rivaldo Coetzee. Despite him playing just two matches last season, it was evident from the first league fixture that he is the key cog in making the new formation function. What exactly is their Sundowns' set-up? Well, when the side is in settled possession of the ball, a centre-back (i.e. Coetzee) will step into midfield. This leaves a back three, two holding midfielders, two wingers, two number 10s and a single striker. It's a 3-2-4-1 shape, much like we see at Manchester City. Coetzee is playing the "John Stones role". When they are building up from their goalkeeper, they can either use a back three with Coetzee in midfield or drop the latter into a more conventional centre-back position. If the opponents are pressing with two strikers, then a back three gives a plus one advantage. If the opponents are pressing with a front three, then the former Ajax Cape Town star can drop back to keep the overload. Ronwen Williams is also capable of being an extra outfielder with Coetzee in midfield and a 'front five' for opponents to defend. Without him, another solution will have to be found. Bathusi Aubaas or Bongani Zungu could do that role or Aubrey Modiba could step into midfield from left back with Abdelmounaim Boutouil a bit more central. For Komphela, he won't have seen Downs playing with genuine wingers in his time there and both Thapelo Maseko and Lucas Ribeiro are newly signed on the flanks. Junior Mendieta played most of his football on the left for Stellenbosch FC and gives another option. The Kroonstad-born coach must decide whether to start Gabadinho Mhango and Tshegofatso Mabasa together. With an older central midfield, he may not feel he can afford to play such an open game against Masandawana. Mokwena explained why he has moved away from the success of a 4-4-2 midfield diamond, saying, "I felt during the off-season, going into the work that we did, is as soon as the league was wrapped up, Golden Arrows, AmaZulu, so many other games, I felt we had become predictable, and that people knew we overloaded the centre with a diamond. We had the four players and all they did was narrow their defensive structures and keep compactness and we had a lot of problems, you know, to try to find different possibilities to break down the opposition structure."
Orlando Pirates v Sekhukhune United
12 August, Orlando Stadium, 18h00
Players To Watch
Monnapule Saleng
There isn't much more that can be said about the winger. He was outstanding last season on the right wing and he scored 15 goals and assisted a further 11. The MTN8 was where he made his breakthrough for the Buccaneers and he will want to repeat his exploits of last term, where he scored twice and assisted once against Sundowns in the semi-final and then scored the winner in the final. His opening outing of the season against Stellenbosch saw him relatively quiet by his high standards as Jose Riveiro gave him license to drift. At times, Fortune Makaringe was more to the right with Thabiso Monyane inverting and Saleng floating whenever the wind took him. Against a Sekhukhune United side who are disciplined defensively and will block spaces in front of their back four, it may be better for Saleng to stay on the right touchline in this match. In the Nedbank Cup final against the same opponents, he had a very quiet outing but popped up with 93:59 on the clock to assist the winner for Terrence Dzvukamanja. Against Royal AM in midweek, Saleng scored a beautiful curling finish when he was back on the right flank – it's his best role and where Riveiro must use him every single week.
Edwin Gyimah
The Ghanaian centre-back has proven an outstanding addition for Babina Noko. He played 25 of the 30 league matches last season and every minute of the run to the Nedbank Cup final. Few strikers will get the better of him in an aerial or ground duel, such is his physicality and aggression. At the back end of last season, he scored against the Soweto giants in the league encounter and then again against SuperSport in round 30. With the arrival of Tshepo Rikhotso, a player called up to the Bafana Bafana squad under Molefi Ntseki in 2019, competition for Gyimah's spot will intensify. The opening league game saw him concede a penalty for a handball in the area, from which Sundowns took the lead. He will have to cut out rash errors like that, or diving in on more nimble strikers, or Pirates could get some joy in this cup quarter-final. It's unlikely they will get a sniff in the challenges with Gyimah!
What The Nedbank Cup Final Taught Us
The biggest surprise in that Nedbank Cup final between these sides was in how Sekhukhune started the match. They were very aggressive in closing down the Bucs build-up schemes and took a 1-0 lead in the fixture. In fact, only a bizarre penalty brought the Sea Robbers level. After that match, Riveiro openly admitted that his side were caught by surprise, revealing, "It had been a long time that nobody was pressing us high aggressively, and they did it tonight. That's the thing I didn't expect. And they surprised us with the high-pressing. That's one of the things we tried to correct in the second half with the positioning of our centre-backs in the build-up." For this match, the Houghton-based side will know exactly what to expect. Brandon Truter's men are bound to play the same way in this one and Bucs must be prepared with an answer from the first whistle.
Cape Town City v Kaizer Chiefs
13 August, Athlone Stadium, 15h00
Players To Watch
Khanyisa Mayo
It may be an obvious one, but City's key goalscorer this season is going to be Mayo. It's no wonder they are being linked with Thabiso Kutumela because the former needs some of the load taken off his shoulders. The attacker was very quiet in the win against Polokwane City at Athlone Stadium last weekend and was replaced in the second half. Jó Paciencia came on and scored the winner from a set-piece situation. The Citizens will be hoping that Mayo starts this term better than the 2022/23 season where he only scored four times in the first 18 league matches. He ended the campaign on fire with eight further goals in 12 fixtures. The side went from just two points above the drop zone after round 19 to a top-four finish thanks to the impact of the Mthatha-born player as a striker – he had previously played wide in many matches, with Bertrand Mani as the main centre-forward. He had some of the highest chances created numbers in the PSL and his 12 goals from open play was the most in the division, whereas Peter Shalulile netted two penalties in his dozen league goals.
Mduduzi Mdantsane
Without doubt, Mdantsane will be desperate to be in the starting XI against his former club. A signing for a fee said to be in the region of R 3.5 million, big things are expected of the Amakhosi development product. He has already captained Baroka FC to the Telkom Knockout crown back in December 2018 and scored a penalty in that game. A lot of these Chiefs players have never won anything in their careers, so Mdantsane will hope to transmit some winning mentality to them. As City's record ever goalscorer, he will be eager to score as he was on a run of just one open play goal in 38 matches after the Naturena-based outfit's opening day 0-0 draw with Chippa United. He needs to re-find that scoring touch or he may not secure a regular starting place at the Glamour Boys. If he makes the XI for this encounter, it will be as a number 10 and he will come into direct conflict with Thato Mokeke and the aggression of Brice Ambina. It won't be easy to have an impact, but if he can win his individual battle, then Chiefs have a much-improved chance of progressing. Considering the goalless stalemate with the Chilli Boys made it three games without scoring, they can't really afford to be leaving a goal threat like Mdantsane on the bench.
Can Amakhosi Exploit City's New Shape?
For Molefi Ntseki, he will have a tactical conundrum for this match. City have been using an aggressive 3-box-3 shape over the last few months that is not dissimilar from that which Mokwena is implanting at Sundowns. The midweek match against Swallows – which happens after this article goes to print – could be a good chance to figure out the best way to exploit the shape ahead of facing Eric Tinkler's men. As Mokwena quipped in a recent press conference, Chiefs could play more of a 4-3-3 this season if Ashley Du Preez and Christian Saile are wide. They are wide forwards more than wingers and will stay high up alongside Ranga Chivaviro. This could be a good system to exploit the space down the sides of City's back three. We could see quite an open game if the Soweto giants go with those attackers and just two deeper midfielders, plus the advancing fullbacks. The engine room looks set to be a key battle as the Mother City side have been using four players in that area. Mokeke and Ambina are joined by Juan Camilo Zapata and the energetic Taahir Goedeman, with Thabo Nodada another option. They could overrun Amakhosi in that area!
SuperSport United v Stellenbosch FC
13 August, New Peter Mokaba Stadium, 18h00
Players To Watch
Terrence Dzvukamanja
It's hard to look past the Zimbabwean as the key man in this match. SuperSport getting Pirates' first-choice number nine on a free transfer is a real coup! He may have been on the fringe at Bucs until mid-January, but he was outstanding after that. He played 19 matches with eight goals scored and six excellent headers within that. There are few players in the PSL that can bring such an interesting skillset. Dzvukamanja can play as a false nine who pulls centre-backs out of the defence, but then he is also a killer in theair! Matsatsantsa delivered 20 crosses per game last season – the most in the topflight – and the 29-year-old scored six headers from just 12 attempts with his head, an incredible 50% conversion rate. He already scored the winner in the Nedbank Cup final last season and will want to add more silverware in the MTN8. With Bradley Grobler going off injured in the win against Richards Bay FC last weekend, the Zimbabwean could be partnered by Etiosa Ighodaro, who is also an aerial weapon. Stellenbosch's centre-backs, Olivier Toure and Thabo Maloisane, will have to be at their best to watch his movement, as evidenced by his well-timed run to finish a Shandre Cambell cross against the Natal Rich Boyz.
Iqraam Rayners
Few players have the sort of impact we saw from Rayners last season in three years, never mind in just 23 appearances. His arrival in January shot the club up the table from a team who sat in 15th place after 18 games to one which finished in the Top Eight. In fact, his 15 goals in his first 11 appearance (in all competitions) saw the Winelands outfit take 23 points from their final 12 encounters. He also had a big impact in getting them to the Nedbank Cup semi-finals too. His sensational impact saw him get into the Bafana Bafana squad for the COSAFA Cup and it has proven a masterstroke for Steve Barker to bring him back and use him as a central striker. After the club's promotion, he tended to play a lot wider in the topflight initially. Teams are definitely marking him tightly now and he ended last season with no goals in his final three matches and then fired a blank against Pirates last Saturday. The head coach Barker talked about his solution, saying, "If I were opposition teams, I would do that (man-mark Rayners) because he's dangerous. He knows where the goal is if given a bit of time and space. Last season, he came back and was a bit of an unknown quantity and had a good run. It won't be easy (this season). So, if that's the case, we can use him as a decoy if they are going to be tight on him. He does create space for others, for a player like Antonio van Wyk, to get on the scoresheet."
Transitions vs. Aerial Assault
It may be a simplification, but these teams often appear as specialists of two certain styles. Stellenbosch are rapid on counter-attacks and transitional play and they have so much pace down the flanks and through the middle. Rayners was not allowed to face the Tshwane side after joining Stellies last season and assuming he can play this one, he will have a massive point to prove. Barker openly said his side wants to have fresh legs from the bench late in games to exploit tired opponents, revealing "I think in attack, we (have) got a lot of different options and variety. Part of our strategy going forward is to have that momentum going into matches to bring in fresh legs." Kgaogelo Sekgota and Andre de Jong fall into that category. Gavin Hunt's team are going to need to be hyper aware of the counters. For SuperSport, they look perfectly equipped to hurt opponents on both crosses and from corners and set-plays. That is how they scored their goals against Richards Bay FC, despite Kaitano Tembo warning his side of that being Matsatsantsa's main strategy. They will play quite direct from Ricardo Goss and pick up second balls, send them to the wingers and then look to deliver crosses and flood the box. Can Stellenbosch deal with that considering a new centre-back pairing and having a relatively small side when it comes to defending set-pieces? Another exciting aspect of this match is seeing all of Stellies' younger players and also hopefully seeing Ime Okon and Shandre Cambell, two DStv Diski Challenge graduates, both starting again for SuperSport.
