Quick guide to the MTN8 quarter-finals with Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns all in action

[p]Here is a quick guide to the last-eight clashes.[/p][p] [/p][p][b]Unstoppable Pirates[/b][/p][p]Pirates host Durban [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-town-city/l8K0DYSm/"]City[/a] on Saturday, with there already being rumblings that things are not well with their opponents.[/p][p]City lost their league opener [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/durban-city-jVI6SFig/sekhukhune-UySmgAPp/?mid=YJK2DDUr"]1-0[/a] at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sekhukhune/UySmgAPp/"]Sekhukhune United[/a] last weekend to extend their winless streak in the league to nine matches (D4 L5), dating back to March.[/p][p]New coach Khalil Ben Youssef has come in, but not much has changed on that front.[/p][p]Despite their Nedbank Cup success last season, they have won only one away match in 2026 (D4 L5), a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/durban-city-jVI6SFig/marumo-gallants-Gnghzo3C/?mid=zmSutUOj"]1-0[/a] success at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/marumo-gallants/Gnghzo3C/"]Marumo Gallants[/a].[/p][p]By contrast, Pirates have lost only one of their last 23 home games (W17 D5), which was against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mamelodi-sundowns/lxZ6Bzh6/"]Mamelodi Sundowns[/a] in February. This looks like a home banker.[/p][p]That said, City did hold Pirates to a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/durban-city-jVI6SFig/orlando-pirates-p4SF9EMI/?mid=nukOkxXQ"]0-0[/a] draw late last season, while the Buccaneers won the reverse fixture [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/durban-city-jVI6SFig/orlando-pirates-p4SF9EMI/?mid=b9DewDjJ"]2-0[/a] in Durban.[/p][p]Pirates have lost only twice in the MTN8 in the last six years (W14 D5), and one of these defeats was in the second leg of the semi-finals against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/stellenbosch-fc/fJsWcA5b/"]Stellenbosch[/a] in 2023, when they advanced anyway on away goals.[/p][p]The other was a quarter-final loss to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/swallows-fc/SnHWoCTb/"]Swallows FC[/a] in 2021.[/p][p]Weirdly for Pirates, their last 10 appearances have seen them either win the trophy (five times) or exit in the quarter-finals. There has been no middle ground.[/p][embed guid="45f80707-706a-4337-9b4d-93979f6833f3" url="https://x.com/orlandopirates/status/2085319979256406448?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Slow starters[/b][/p][p]Sundowns have been strangely poor in the MTN8 over the years, making slow starts to seasons that have yielded only one win in the competition since 2008.[/p][p]That was five years ago, when they defeated Cape Town City on penalties, something they will want to put right as they welcome [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/polokwane-city/ADz8rR88/"]Polokwane City[/a] in their quarter-final clash on Saturday.[/p][p]They do generally get past this stage, having lost in the last eight only once since 2018. They have lost five times in the semi-finals during that run and reached the final twice.[/p][p]This will be their first competitive fixture since they lifted the CAF Champions League in May, following a disrupted pre-season due to the tragic death of midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/adams-jayden/vPHtKJeg/"]Jayden Adams[/a].[/p][p]City started their league campaign with an excellent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/polokwane-ADz8rR88/richards-bay-noDZhkBM/?mid=lARI9VT7"]2-1[/a] away win at Richards Bay and will look to catch Sundowns cold.[/p][p]This will be Polokwane’s fifth appearance in the MTN8. They have three quarter-final exits to go with one loss in the semi-finals.[/p][p]Sundowns have won the last three meetings, but Polokwane did pull off a home win in 2024. The teams’ only other MTN8 meeting came a few months before that, when Sundowns won [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/mamelodi-sundowns-lxZ6Bzh6/polokwane-ADz8rR88/?mid=Qa3gMMH8"]1-0[/a] at home.[/p][embed guid="e615cc83-8a7f-4dd3-a5a2-7568309ced83" url="https://x.com/Masandawana/status/2085382572146655635?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Tight tussle[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/amazulu/4jYGJsW7/"]AmaZulu[/a] and Sekhukhune United will both fancy their chances when they meet in Durban on Sunday, with each seeking to lift the trophy for the first time.[/p][p]It is a battle between the teams that finished fourth and fifth in the league last season, so you would expect a tight contest, even if Sekhukhune have had something of a squad overhaul since the last campaign.[/p][p]Each won their opening league fixture 1-0 last weekend, so they have the confidence of three points and a clean sheet behind them.[/p][p]History suggests a tight contest too. There have been 11 previous clashes, with Usuthu edging the head-to-head 4-3, with four draws.[/p][p]Sekhukhune have won one of their five visits to AmaZulu (D2 L2), which was a 2-0 success in 2025. Their last visit was a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/sekhukhune-UySmgAPp/siwelele-x6s5gTDd/?mid=bHwNmk1t"]2-2[/a] league draw in April.[/p][p]The Limpopo club have one away win in their last seven road trips (D3 L3), while AmaZulu are generally tough to beat at home.[/p][p]The only other knockout meeting between the sides was a Nedbank Cup clash in 2024 that Usuthu won [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/amazulu-4jYGJsW7/sekhukhune-UySmgAPp/?mid=YeRW4eDD"]2-0[/a] at Sekhukhune.[/p][embed guid="4acf74a8-1717-4f1b-baaf-579aaa7647ba" url="https://x.com/KaizerChiefs/status/2085355104480227604?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Early promise[/b][/p][p]New [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kaizer-chiefs/fFZ2CGx0/"]Kaizer Chiefs[/a] coach Fernando Da Cruz can win over the fans with some immediate silverware success if he can claim the MTN8, but he must first get past a tricky [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-arrows/C6CjDdNg/"]Lamontville Golden Arrows[/a] side in their quarter-final clash on Sunday.[/p][p]Chiefs made a positive start to their campaign with a comprehensive [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/kaizer-chiefs-fFZ2CGx0/kruger-united-2BcXneae/?mid=tpOABiae"]3-1[/a] win at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kruger-united/2BcXneae/"]Kruger United[/a] last weekend, while Golden Arrows were held to a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/chippa-utd-AiZa0UPS/golden-arrows-C6CjDdNg/?mid=4pvwchp2"]0-0[/a] draw by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chippa-utd/AiZa0UPS/"]Chippa United[/a].[/p][p]That was one of five draws in their last six games, four of which have ended 0-0, suggesting something of an attacking crisis at the club.[/p][p]Chiefs are back in the MTN8, having not qualified for the last two editions before a third-place finish in the league in 2025/26 earned them their return.[/p][p]It is a competition in which they have really struggled in the last decade, winning only three of their 16 matches since the 2015 season (D6 L7). Those victories came against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/free-state-stars/f31qPx8m/"]Free State Stars[/a] (2018), Maritzburg United (2020) and Cape Town City (2023).[/p][p]In that time, they have exited in the quarter-finals on three occasions and in the semi-finals on four. They did not qualify in 2019, 2024 and 2025.[/p][p]The last 10 clashes between the sides have seen six wins for Golden Arrows and four for Chiefs, who have claimed victory in the last two, both by 1-0 scorelines. There has not been a draw between the sides since 2020.[/p][p]Golden Arrows have won three of their last five visits to Chiefs (L2).[/p][p]Abafana Bes’thende famously lifted the MTN8 in 2009 when they thumped Ajax Cape Town 6-0 in the final, still the biggest winning margin in any major cup final in South African football history.[/p]