The last time these two sides faced each other, Amakhosi claimed a famous 2-1 victory to claim the 2025 Nedbank Cup final, and end 10 years without a trophy.

But Pirates have been the more dominant force in recent campaigns, with three second-place finishes behind perennial winners Mamelodi Sundowns as Amakhosi ended in fifth, tenth and ninth place.

Bucs are currently in second place on the Betway Premiership standings with 38 points from 17 games - level with leaders Sundowns, but Amakhosi are only eight points adrift, in fourth place from 16 games.

In 183 previous meetings, Amakhosi have claimed victory 75 times, while Pirates have won 49 meetings, with 54 matches ending in draws.

But both sides come into this tie on the back of league defeats as Chiefs lost 2-1 to Stellenbosch as Pirates went down to Mamelodi Sundowns, before their Nedbank cup exit to Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars.

Chiefs co-head coach Cedric Kaze says his side are taking their campaign one game at a time, as they focus soley on the league, following their Nedbank Cup and CAF Confederation Cup exits.

"We didn’t say we are competing for the PSL, or we don’t compete for the PSL. We are fighting for every game. If we get an opportunity to fight and win the PSL, we will do it," he said.

"The most important thing is the performance of the team, and we will continue to fight to win the games."

"I think every derby has a different reality and depending on the result of the team, the derby has another reality, and I hope we will be ready to win this next game," he added.

Bucs boss Abdeslam Ouaddou has, meanwhile, called on his charges to show mental resilience to bounce back from successive defeats to Sundowns and Stars.

“I think we will have to find other tools to bounce back," he said on IOL. "It is very important to bring back the confidence for the players to continue to perform and play on.”

"When you have lost, it is very important mentally to wash the brain and give confidence and trust to the players. It is what we did after Sundowns. There is this game as well that will shock the players a bit, but I will tell them that we still have 13 finals coming."

In team news though, Amakhosi are boosted by the return of several key players from injury, notably Fiacre Ntwari, Thabo Cele, and Bradley Cross.

Pirates though are sweating on the fitness of Evidence Makgopa and Boitumelo Radiopane. Tapelo Xoki and Thabiso Lebitso both are still sidelined but Sipho Mbule, Thalente Mbatha and Kabelo Dlamini are expected to be fit to face Chiefs on Saturday.

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