PIC: Mamelodi Sundowns host Kaizer Chiefs in their Nedbank Cup semifinal

Mamelodi Sundowns will host Kaizer Chiefs in their Nedbank Cup semifinal on Sunday, April 13 as the AmaKhosi seek to end a 10-year trophy drought by taking the title this year.

Remarkably, this will be their first meeting in the Nedbank Cup since the inaugural year of the competition in its current guise, when Sundowns won a Last 16 tie on penalties and went on to lift the trophy.
Here are five things ahead of their latest clash.

FOURTH MEETING THIS SEASON

The clubs will meet for the fourth time in all competitions this season, with Sundowns victorious in the other three. They won both league matches 2-1 and 1-0, and also claimed a handsome 4-0 success in the Carling Knockout. There will be no secrets between the sides, it will all come down to who executes their game-plan better on the day.

UNBEATEN RUN
Sundowns have not lost any of their last 12 meetings with Chiefs, a run that dates back to 2021. They have won nine of those fixtures, which includes a 5-1 and two 4-0 victories, with the other three games drawn. But overall Chiefs lead the head-to-head 41-38, with 32 matches drawn. Chiefs have scored 125 goals and Sundowns 124 in that time.

SHALULILE LOVES PLAYING CHIEFS

No player has scored more goals in games between Sundowns and Chiefs than Namibia international Peter Shalulile, and he will be looking to add to his tally in this tie. Shalulile has scored eight goals in these fixtures, one more than previous record-holder Lovemore Chafunya, also of Sundowns. Ace Khuse, Chippa Molatedi, Thabo Mooki and Siyabonga Nomvethe all scored five goals for Chiefs against Sundowns, the most for the Naturena club. Shalulile’s eight strikes for Sundowns against Chiefs have come from 10 starts and one sub appearance. He also scored twice for Highlands Park against Chiefs, including one in a famous Nedbank Cup success in 2020 when the game finished 1-1 and Shalulile’s side triumphed on penalties. His total of 10 goals against Chiefs is the joint highest against any opponent along with Lamontville Golden Arrows.

SHOOT-OUT WOE
Chiefs have never won a Nedbank Cup penalty shootout since the competition was first played in 2008. They lost to Sundowns in that inaugural year, and have subsequently suffered shoot-out heartache at the hands of BidVest Wits in the semifinals in 2014, SuperSport United in the quarterfinals in 2017, Highlands Park in the Last 16 in 2020 and Milford FC in the Last 32 in 2024. Sundowns have also been involved in five shoot-outs since 2008 and won three of those. But the two they lost were both in the semifinals, against AmaZulu in 2010 and TTM in 2021. 

LONG JOURNEY
Chiefs will be well-rested ahead of the Nedbank Cup semifinal, but Sundowns will have made their way back from Tunisia in the week following their CAF Champions League quarterfinal, second leg against Esperance in Tunis. Just what a physical and mental effect that will have on the players remains to be seen, but it has to be an advantage to the AmaKhosi.