Amakhosi were handed a 3-0 hammering by Betway Premiership title-chasing Orlando Pirates in the first-round fixture at the FNB Stadium in February.

Since then, though, last season's Nedbank Cup winners have maintained a rich patch of form, and head into the clash in third place on the league standings and on the back of six -match unbeaten run.

Pirates are, however, fighting tooth and nail with Mamelodi Sundowns for the top-flight crown this season and won't want to concede points to their fiercest rivals.

Speaking ahead of the game, an upbeat Ben Youssef said on IOL: "There's a big difference between the first and second derby.

"Every team has been performing well in the last six or seven games. We are coming from six games – five wins and one draw."

When asked about Pirates' form, the coach added: "I think it's not for me to speak about the performance of Pirates, from the start of the season. They had a very good performance with coach Abdeslam. I think on the day of the derby, the team that makes fewer mistakes will be ready to challenge."

Ben Youssef also explained that his team's form picked up after welcoming back a number of key players from injury.

"We were unlucky that we had a lot of injuries. The difficult thing for a job is that when you have injuries, you have to make substitutions and you don't have consistency," he said.

"Now in the last five or six games, it's been relatively the same squad. When the consistency is there, the performance and the results are there. Unfortunately, we missed a lot of chances and points. The performance was good, but we didn't score. But we found balance in the last two games.

"We've got the energy, and the vibe. All the players are ready and fit; they are sending a strong message that they are ready – mentally, fitness and training wise in the last three weeks. We are ready to win this game."

Innocent Maela backs Orlando Pirates' readiness to challenge Mamelodi Sundowns for the title