7 April 2011
Video: Saturday, 2 April highlights
Video: Sunday, 3 April highlights
The Nedbank Cup Last 16 round of fixtures will be completed this weekend, with plenty to look forward to in terms of eye-catching match-ups.
Free State Stars host SuperSport United at Goble Park on Saturday (15h00 kick-off) in a fixture that has been dominated by SuperSport in recent seasons. Stars have won just two of the last 10 meetings between the clubs, while their League match earlier this season finished 0-0.
Stars are the form side going into the game though with just two defeats in their last 13 games, and their last outing producing a thumping 4-1 victory over Maritzburg United on Wednesday night.
SuperSport, by contrast, are having a dismal season by their high standards and twice let a lead slip on Wednesday as they lost 4-2 at Golden Arrows.
Their League record on the road is among the worst in the top-flight too, with only bottom club Mpumalanga Black Aces and fellow strugglers Maritzburg United collecting fewer away points.
SuperSport have at least already fared better than their last three showings in the Nedbank Cup, when they lost in the first round on each occasion. In 2008 it was to neighbours, and eventual winners, Mamelodi Sundowns; in 2009 to Orlando Pirates and last year 2-1 at the hands of Kaizer Chiefs.
Stars, for their part, were semifinalists last year, before they were beaten 3-1 by eventual champions BidVest Wits.
AmaZulu host First Division Carara Kicks in their Nedbank Cup Last 16 clash at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday night (20h15).
Usuthu were losing finalists last year and will be desperate to go one better this time round. They will fancy their chances against lower league opposition, though Kicks have shown this season under rookie coach Duncan Lechesa that they are no pushovers.
A 7-0 victory in the first round against Cullinan FC will have boosted the confidence of the Kicks players, who are still in with a slim chance of reaching the National First Division play-offs at the end of the campaign.
AmaZulu had a big win of their own in the first round of the Nedbank Cup, dispatching Real Madrid 5-0, though the scoreline was helped by a flurry of goals late in the game.
Usuthu side ended a run of six straight League draws on Wednesday when they lost 1-0 to Black Aces, but they will have had their minds very much on this Nedbank Cup fixture against Kicks.
On Sunday, BidVest Wits and Kaizer Chiefs renew rivalries after playing to an entertaining 1-1 draw in the League on Wednesday when they meet at BidVest Stadium (15h00).
Both sides had great opportunities to win the game and it all sets up the Nedbank Cup clash perfectly as Wits seek to retain the title they won last year.
The Students have the third best home record this season, bettered only by Ajax Cape Town and Mamelodi Sundowns, and they will present a formidable challenge for AmaKhosi.
Recent history favours Chiefs, with three wins in their last five meetings, and a single success for Wits, but this young, exciting Students side can match any team in the Premiership on their day, as they showed in beating Mamelodi Sundowns, Ajax Cape Town and SuperSport United already.
BTX Liverpool will be hoping to join fellow Vodacom League side Baroka FC in the quarterfinals when they host First Division Black Leopards at Griffon Stadium in Welkom on Sunday (15h00).
The Free State side beat another First Division team, Blackburn Rovers, in the last round to reach this stage and they will be hoping to use homeground advantage to the fullest against a very good Leopards side.
Leopards saw off the challenge of Thanda Royal Zulu in their Last 32 clash and will be looking for a repeat of their semifinal appearance in the Nedbank Cup in 2009, when they lost to eventual champions Moroka Swallows.
Join My MTNFootball now you can make friends, join groups, have discussions and upload your own photos! Its all there! Its a great new way to interact with fellow footie fans online. Click here to register now.
