Staff Reporter.
Orlando Pirates are wary of Baroka FC ahead of their DStv Premiership clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Tuesday.
Pirates’ hopes of qualifying for the CAF Champions League next season are hanging by a thread, though a win would take them into third place, albeit having played either two or three more games than the teams around them.
It would also be a third league win a row and a sign that the side are building come momentum.
Baroka sit at the foot of the table and in desperate need of points themselves having won only four out of 24 games this campaign.
“We face a tough opponent in Baroka, they are a team fighting for their lives and every point they get is important to them. We know how difficult the match is going to be,’ Pirates co-coach Fadlu Davids said.
“They are quite a dynamic team in relation to how they set up in their mid-zone block, but also they press you at any moment, so we have to be prepared to knock their defence and not allow any goals in transition.”
Baroka have never beaten Pirates outright in 12 previous meetings, though they did claim a penalty shoot-out success when the 2018 Telkom Knockout final finished in a 2-2 draw.