Chiefs eye derby redemption as Pirates seek to extend dominance

The Soweto Derby will take place on Sunday at the FNB Stadium.

Kaizer Chiefs’ current form suggests Sunday’s highly anticipated Soweto Derby against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates will not be a repeat of February’s one-sided affair at the same venue.

Chiefs who are currently third on the log, were annihilated on that occasion. Mathematically, Amakhosi can still win the league title, but realistically they only hold the key to cabinet where the trophy will be end up at Pirates or Mamelodi Sundowns.

Historically Kaizer Chiefs have dominated the Soweto derby. However, the tide has turned in recent years. Orlando Pirates are on a five-match winning streak and were comfortable 3-nil winners in the first-round encounter in February.

However, Chiefs have hit top form of late, winning five matches in a row and co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef says a second successive defeat to their arch-rivals, would be disastrous.

“Every derby has its reality, no one can predict the result of this game, so every game is different. I think the first derby; it was during a bad moment coming from many games. Now there is a big difference between the first and the second derby. Now I think the team has performed very well in the last six or seven games. We are coming from five wins and one draw. I think it’s not for me to say anything about the performance of Orlando Pirates, I think from the start of the season, they are showing very good performance with coach Abdeslam.”

Ben Youssef says despite Pirates’ dominance in recent years, Chiefs are more than capable of turning the tables. “I think on the day of the derby, the team that makes less mistakes, who will be ready for the challenge, who will be hungrier and more ready to win this game, that’s the reality for the game. But to be honest no one can predict or tell us about the performance or result of this game.”

A win against Chiefs on Sunday will keep Pirates at the top of the log and take them closer to a first league title in more than a decade. But Pirates coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou, is wary of their Soweto rivals.

“Now it’s another game, we have seen that Kaizer Chiefs have been doing well for many games, they are really fit. For us it will be another game, different context, different environment, we have to prepare for that and we will do our best again to make our fans happy and to keep going you know. “

Pirates captain Nkosinathi Sibisi says they must bring their A-game on Sunday to keep pressure on fellow title contenders, Sundowns. “For us as players the mentality it has to be, you know, spot on because it’s not your normal game and as I have said you know, it’s a game of consequence. We have to deliver and for us is just to get the mentality in the right space and be in the right space to play that game.”

Chiefs will still be in possession of the key after Sunday’s derby, because they also have a match against defending champions, Sundowns, to play. That encounter takes place in Pretoria on 6 May.

Soweto Derby Press Conference

Coach Khalil, Petersen and Msimango represented Kaizer Chiefs at today’s presser as the two Soweto Giants get ready for Sunday’s already SOLD OUT clash at FNB Stadium.#Amakhosi4Life #SowetoDerby #AlwaysHome pic.twitter.com/OCv6nKNpg9

— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) April 23, 2026