Cape Town - Orlando Pirates will be spoilt for choice when they select the matchday squad to play Royal Leopards of Eswatini in Sunday's CAF Confederation Cup Group B match at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
It's not the only spoil the ever-improving Pirates will enjoy. Instead of a flight across the border to play in neighbouring Eswatini, Pirates won't have to leave the country for this away game.
They will only need a bus drive from Orlando to Mbombela. CAF have declared Royal Leopards' home venue (Mavuso Sports Centre) unsuitable for matches under its jurisdiction.
Selection may not have been Pirates' strong point in recent times, and the co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids have taken flak from the media for their choices.
Ncikazi and Davids have been repeatedly asked by the media why Malawian striker Gabadinho Mhango has been cold shoulder after several impressive outings at the recent Afcon in Cameroon.
Last week in Benghazi, Pirates finally relented and brought on Mhango as a second-half substitute, and he didn't disappoint. After he joined the fray, Pirates' press improved somewhat, and he did enough to warrant a slot in Sunday's run-on XI. Pirates lost 3-2 to Al Ittihad of Libya, but they should have at least come away with a point from the match, which they dominated at various stages.
Pirates have reported that close to a 100% of the squad is available for selection. Ncikazi and Davids have opted for continuity, making minimal changes to the starting personnel during their tenure.
The Eswatini upstarts Royal Leopards had been in sparkling form on the domestic front, but they came a cropper against JS Saoura in Algeria last week in their Confederation Cup opener. They went down 2-0 after conceding two penalties in the match.
Royal Leopards CEO Frank Hurube said in an interview with Kick-off magazine that Pirates should not read too much into that 2-0 defeat, because the Algerians could only score via the penalty spot.
“Uyayati ingoti yenyoka lenyatselekile (you know the danger of a wounded snake)," said Hurube.
“This is what Orlando Pirates will see on Sunday. We wanted to play the match during daylight so that they can feel the heat.
“They are lucky that we are playing at 18:00.
“We were unlucky with the score against JS Saoura and we were beaten through our own mistakes.
“We are ready to dust ourselves and prepare for our next match and I feel we will definitely beat Pirates on Sunday.”
Pirates would do well to remember what happened seven years ago when Royal Leopards famously knocked now-defunct Bidvest Wits out of the same tournament,
The dangerman in the Royal Leopards is defensive midfielder Junior Magagula who has a penchant for scoring goals from deep positions. He has already played Champions League and has scored twice in the elite continental competition.
Former University of Pretoria striker Thabiso Mokenkoane will spearhead Royal Leopards' attack and he is bound to keep the Pirates defence on their toes.
More good news for Pirates is that Richard Ofori and Vincent Pule have fully recovered after spending months on the sidelines. nursing injuries. Both could find their way into Sunday's matchday squad, and that should auger well for second-half stints ahead of next week's Soweto Derby.
@Herman_Gibbs