Mhlongo says no favourites ahead of Sundowns-Pirates MTN8 final

Former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Benson Mhlongo believes neither side should be regarded as favourites before Saturday’s MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 18:00, with the two South African football giants meeting for the trophy.

Mhlongo expects a closely contested encounter and says Orlando Pirates have reduced the gap that previously separated them from Mamelodi Sundowns, making the final harder to predict.

“No, there’s no favourites, it’s a battle of the titans,” Mhlongo said on Radio 2000.

“This is what we’ve been longing for, for the past years to say Sundowns must have [strong] opponents, a team that will challenge them.

“And I’m excited to see Pirates challenging them and we need two more teams to challenge for the league.

“This is what South African football must be all about, competitions mustn’t be easy. So, for me there are no favourites in this game.”

Mhlongo believes the final could be decided by which team is more disciplined without the ball, with both sides possessing attacking players capable of creating chances in several ways.

Defensive discipline could decide final

“The team that has strong defence will win the game because there will be a lot of attempts,” he added.

“The ‘keepers must be on their toes and the defenders must be vigilant because both teams have got forwards who can dodge, break the lines, play in between, use width and can play behind.

“They are more similar, Pirates do it with pace and force but Sundowns do it with precision.”