Cosmos aim to sink Pirates

Kick-off is at 18h00.

Cosmos have already provided something of an upset in the competition, defeating Bidvest Wits 2-0 away from home this past weekend.

It's not so much that Ezenkosi managed to defeat the Clever Boys, it's the fact that they have managed to shrug off the disappointment of relegation from the Absa Premiership so quickly.

Against Wits, Cosmos certainly didn't look like a side who had just suffered the agony of a second demotion from the top tier in the space of two years.

In fact, they looked controlled, confident and possessed a self belief that was desperately lacking in their League campaign.

Gerald Modabi and Ashley Smith scored the goals for Ezenkosi but the real heroes of their first round victory were defenders Thapelo Tshilo and Ousmane Berthe.

The centre-back pairing hardly put a foot wrong and they will hope for a similarly sturdy showing this weekend.

Pirates, shorn of several key players who are away on national duty in Brazil, looked well short of their effervescent best in their first round win over Bloemfontein Celtic but, as coach Ruud Krol acknowledged after the game, all that counts in knockout football is the result.

The exciting young talent Ndumiso Mabena scored the Buccaneers' lone goal and he will be taking aim at Cosmos this weekend, hoping to net his third in as many games for the Soweto giants.

It has been almost five years since Pirates and Cosmos met in a Cup competition but the rich heritage of knockout football between the two closely related clubs makes for intriguing reading.

Their last cup meeting was in this very competition, albeit under its former guise as the Coca-Cola Cup, in the 2005/06 season. Ezenkosi scored a narrow 1-0 win on their way to winning the competition, which was their last major cup trophy.

In all, the two clubs have met 61 times in both league and cup competitions, with the Buccaneers winning 25 games to Ezenkosi's 20 and outscoring their rivals 73 goals to 71.

Their nine Cup meetings have seen Pirates claim nine wins to Cosmos' five, though Jomo Sono's team have won the last two Cup showdowns between the teams.