Despite a seventh-place league finish last season, Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has warned against underestimating upcoming opponents SuperSport United as the two teams prepare to do battle in the MTN8.
The Buccaneers are pitting inn the final preparations before starting their MTN8 title defence against Matsatsantsa on Saturday.
The teams will be meeting for the first time in the new season and although Pirates are the defending champions and arguably favourites', it worth noting that Pirates could not beat SuperSport on both occasions last season.
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Their first encounter last season ended in a 3-1 win for Matsatsantsa in December 2023 and they played to a 1-1 draw when they met for the reverse fixture in May.
Speaking to journalists at the launch of the MTN8 on Wednesday, Riveiro warned that titles would could for little on match-day.
"We have to fight for every opportunity to win game after game. We take one competition at a time. We have the MTN8, where we have the opportunity to defend our title, but we also have to respect our next opponents because SuperSport is not a joke," the Spaniard said.
"We are talking about knockout games, there is no other way to start. We played them twice last season and we couldn't beat them. We lost in Polokwane and managed to get only one point at Orlando on the last day of the season.
"We know it is going to be a difficult game but we know where we want to go and we will try our best."
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The match will be played at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.
Kick-off is 18:00.