Soweto Derby fever mounts

Form goes out the window in the Soweto Derby.

That was the point stressed by Kaizer Chiefs captain Jimmy Tau as his side get ready to host arch rivals Orlando Pirates at the sold out Orlando Stadium on Saturday in what will be a closely fought Absa Premiership battle. Kick-off is at 3.30pm.

Neither side have set the Premiership season alight so far with Chiefs collecting 17 points and Pirates 19 from their 12 fixtures played.

It will be the first time the Buccaneers go into a Soweto Derby on the back of three successive league defeats. There was more bad news for Pirates with the injury to captain and midfield hard man Benson Mhlongo in the 2-1 away loss to AmaZulu on Wednesday night.

Mhlongo could miss the remainder of the season with a bad knee injury that club officials said was "very serious", although they added the full extent would only be known later on Thursday when Mhlongo visited a specialist.

And Bucs' club captain Lehlohonolo Seema understands and sympathises with Mhlongo's plight.

"I have been out for most of the season with injury and it is going to be a blow losing Benson," Seema said.

"But there are players waiting in the wings and it will be a chance for somebody to come in and make a name for himself in the Derby. We wish Benson a speedy recovery."

Seema admitted there was pressure on the players but stressed that was nothing new. And he added there was no crisis at Pirates despite losing three matches in a row.

"Crisis? What crisis?" said the Lesotho international defender. "There is no such thing at Pirates. At the start of the season we went nine games unbeaten. We have hit a bad patch and we will recover. It is not serious.

"Pirates will bounce back and there is no better game and place than in the derby against Chiefs at Orlando Stadium."

Seema said the players were 100 per cent behind coach Ruud Krol. "We fully support our coach and the three defeats are nothing but a blip in what is a tough compact season," he said.

"We appeal to the fans also to support the players and coach."

Krol will have to get his tactics spot on as Bucs' fans will not take kindly to a fourth defeat against the old enemy in the heartland of Soweto.

Tau said his side were up for the challenge and that Wednesday night's 2-0 win over MTN8 champions Golden Arrows at the same venue had boosted spirits.

"Playing Pirates is always a huge challenge that Chiefs players enjoy meeting," said Tau.

"We are now more focused and know what we want to achieve."

Tau waved off criticism of the Chiefs defence and coach Vladimir Vermezovic.

"We will do our talking on the pitch. We are confident," he said.

"We are happy with our preparations and are determined to enjoy this historic derby played at Orlando Stadium. There is so much pride and history at stake.

"We are concentrating on getting three points and kick starting our season."

Tau added that Chiefs would not use the poor state of the pitch as an excuse.

"We played on the pitch against Arrows and won. It will be the same pitch for both teams and there will be no problems from that side."

Vermezovic was under the spotlight during Wednesday's match when he replaced winger Abia Nale and berated him when he came off the pitch for failing to follow instructions.

Nale, who looked to be in tears after the dressing down, is a non starter after he sulked, but the Serbian coach won few friends in the crowd and could have handled the situation better and more privately.

Striker Kaizer Motaung Junior and Siphiwe Tshabalala will be the key players for Chiefs with Teko Modise and Dikgang Mabalane pulling the strings for Bucs.