Mind games? Sundowns coach praises Riveiro ahead of Pirates tie

As expected, Rulani Mokwena will invade Soweto on Wednesday with his homework on Orlando Pirates done.

ALSO READ: Pirates v Sundowns – the key players

It will be a clash of the titans as Mamelodi Sundowns confront the Buccaneers in a DStv Premiership encounter at Orlando Stadium with three points at stake.

Sundowns have already claimed the scalp of Kaizer Chiefs this season and they will be hoping for a similar outcome against another Soweto giants.

As you would expect with any general leading his army, Mokwena shared some parts of his notes ahead of the battle against his former team who are now under the guidance of Spaniard Jośe Riveiro.

“There’s a big coaching improvement and you can see it with the team,” Mokwena said.

“There is clarity in some of the organisational forms and that is supported when you look at the numbers and their form in relation to how they have started.

“They have played nine matches and won six and two losses and one draw. They have scored 18 goals with Zakhele Lepasa scoring 10 of those and moving into the space of being the first Pirates player to score 10 goals as quickly as he has.

“And they have conceded six but that’s not just the data that’s most important because that’s the data that profiles their form.”

The Brazilians completed a league double over Pirates last season. However, Riveiro’s side did have the last laugh in the MTN8, knocking them out in the semi-finals of competition which they eventually won.

In a ploy that could be interpreted as playing mind games, Mokwena also highlighted Pirates’ game model.

“What profiles their playing system is that they average 60% ball possession which means as compared to last season, they keep more of the ball this season,” he said referring to his notes again.

ALSO READ: Riveiro expects Pirates to bounce back in Sundowns showdown

“They do play faster where they average 20% per position spell and ours is a little bit more because we play in moments and we have a different way of playing. They do create a lot of situations from crosses and average nine crosses per match and they create 13 chances per match.

“Already you can profile and see where the team is from an offensive respective, so there have been improvements and we know that we will be playing against a very good team where a lot of small details will make a difference.”

Kick-off for match is 7.30pm where the home team will be looking to bounce back from the 1-0 defeat to Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana. Meanwhile, Sundowns crushed Bumamuru 4-0 in the same competition.