Soweto Derby

What Chiefs need to get right

Will Middendorp change his line-up?

Ernst Middendorp stuck with the side that he used after Reeve Frosler went off injured against Mamelodi Sundowns last week. That meant that the German mentor continued with his favoured 4-4-2 diamond shape, which allowed him to use two strikers but still have Khama Billiat in support too. Willard Katsande was the holding player in front of the back four, with Lebogang Manyama to his left and George Maluleka to his right. Billiat played as a number 10 at the top of the diamond, but had lots of licence to drift wide or into the left half-space as he saw fit. Upfront, it was Leonardo Castro and Samir Nurkovic as wider, split strikers to run the channels. Expect much of the same against Orlando Pirates this weekend.

Chiefs go for aerial power!

Chiefs decided to start this match at a very fast tempo to see if there were any tired legs on the Bucs side. Chiefs were aggressive from the start and this successfully stopped Pirates from dominating possession. They were clearly targeting Pirates in the air with two tall target men and giants coming forward from center-back for set-plays. In the first 26 minutes, Chiefs had shots from several deliveries into the box, with Wayne Sandilands called upon to make a couple of saves. They also had the big talking point as Nurkovic headed Billiat’s pass into the net from an onside position, but the goal was ruled out. Had Chiefs led 1-0 by that point, it would have been fully deserved. By playing two strikers, they also stopped Sandilands from using Happy Jele and Ntsikelelo Nyauza to receive from their goalkeeper, and instead Bucs had to find another solution to build up from their own half.

Maela caused Chiefs problems