Chiefs release key injury info ahead of Castric Stars clash

For Chiefs, the road to a 20^th Nedbank Cup final pits them next against Casric Stars, a team who currently sit third in the second tier, and are 13 games undefeated in the league.

The game kicks off at 6pm, with Amakhosi still expected to come away with a comfortable victory.

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Although several players are not available, there is some good news for Chiefs.

“In terms of player availability, we are still missing the likes of Khama (Billiat) and Tower (Erick Mathoho). Some players have just returned to training from niggling injuries and other players are coming back from suspension,” coach Arthur Zwane commented.

“Christian (Saile) is suspended and we welcome back Ashley du Preez. Other than that, we have everyone available, except for those still making their way back to full fitness, such as Cole Alexander, while Reeve Frosler is also a long-term absentee. We will see how Dillan Solomons responds. He is back in the team and it’s now a case of testing his fitness as well. So, we have to try and balance the squad in defence and attack.`’

Chiefs will want to guard against complacency despite being favourites

There are links between Chiefs and their opponents this weekend, with former Chiefs youth development head Sundra Govinder now the technical director of Casric Stars, while Chiefs academy graduate Keletso Sifama is currently on loan at Stars as well as Sibusiso Milazi and Khotso Malope

At this stage of the tournament Chiefs’ two biggest wins have been 4-0 triumphs over Wits in 2010-11 and Black Leopards in 2011-12, the latter a game in which Lehlohonolo Majoro scored four goals as Chiefs marched into the last eight.

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Zwane will be hoping for the same kind of clinical finishing displayed by Chiefs in those two games and will be looking for his front men to ease the pressure with early goals.

For Amakhosi though, the main objective will be to keep focus and target a spot amongst the teams in Monday’s draw for the last eight. Zwane will be emphasising to his team the need to stay the course and not be distracted by talk of potential quarterfinal opponents.

Instead, it will be all about getting the job done on Sunday and moving onto the next round.

“We are playing against a very difficult team,” Zwane commented. “It is not going to be a walk in the park, so we are going to have to give our best and bring our A-game in order for us to go through to the next round. We have the advantage of playing at home. Let’s see how they deal with us when we attack. We will have to be cautious when we defend and make sure we don/t give them enough space to manoeuvre.”

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There are two Nedbank Cup games on Sunday