By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Orlando Pirates has provided an injury update ahead of the highly much-anticipated Soweto Derby at the FNB stadium on Sunday, 26 April 2026.
Pirates go into the match bragging about the 3-0 defeat over Chiefs in the first derby of the season.
The Buccaneers are looking to end Mamelodi Sundowns’ dominance, which has seen them win the league for eight successive seasons.
Pirates are currently sitting at the summit of the log standings with 58 points in 25 matches, leading Sundowns by two points, although the defending champions have two games in hand.
Speaking at the pre-match conference at Rand Stadium on Tuesday, the club’s assistant coach, Mandla Ncikazi, provided an update on the squad.
“[Tapelo] Xoki is still doing rehab; Sihle Nduli is also doing his rehab,” said Ncikazi said. I think we will have a clean bill of health except for the two main injuries that are known.”
“Preparations are going well, preparing for a very big match, the biggest on the continent,” Ncikazi added.
“The beauty of this match is it’s going to be highly competitive, based on the fact that if you were to take a sample of the last seven matches, five wins for both teams, 29 goals [sic. 19] scored by our team, and 12 by the opponents.”
“They have conceded only three goals; we have conceded four. From that point, it already indicates how narrow the match will be – a highly competitive match. We are preparing to win,” he said.
Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs will always be remembered for being at the forefront of the revolution within South African football and their success continued in a democratic South Africa.
In 1995, Pirates became the first South African club to win what is now the CAF Champions League – or the African Cup of Champions Clubs as it was then known.
The Buccaneers beat Côte d’Ivoire’s ASEC Mimosas 3-2 on aggregate, winning the second leg 1-0 with a goal from Jerry ‘Legs of Thunder’ Sikhosana. Ironically, Sikhosana comes from a Chiefs-supporting household.
In the modern era, many players and coaches have represented both clubs. The most controversial in recent memory was Jimmy Tau, a right-back who captained and won the league title with Pirates before doing the same with Chiefs. He was a league champion in 2002-03 with the Buccaneers and a decade later with Amakhosi. Even among the current Chiefs squad, Thabiso Monyane and Paseka Mako recently joined Pirates.