The Bucs coach claims there is no pressure on his side, while Amakhosi coach Gavin Hunt says his side are underdogs for the derby
Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer says it's Amakhosi and not his side who are under pressure for Saturday's MTN8 semi-final encounter at the Orlando Stadium.
The first leg game kicks off at 15:00 and will be followed by the return match next week Sunday, November 8.
For both sides, the MTN8 is a chance to end a long trophy drought - for Pirates that extends to six years and for Chiefs it's five years.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Zinnbauer, now going into his second season with Bucs, tried to play down the weight of expectation and hoped to flip that onto Amakhosi.
“We are not the favourites," he said. "We have no pressure, Kaizer Chiefs have the pressure in this game.
"But we do our best, we have to win the game it’s important for us it’s the derby and it’s a big chance you can win a cup."
It's not entirely clear though why he feels this way. For one thing, Zinnbauer has had substantially longer than his opposite number, Gavin Hunt, to work with his team.
He's also had the benefit of bringing in a number of quality players during the transfer window, while the Glamour Boys are in the middle of a transfer ban.
And Pirates fans are no less expectant than their Glamour Boys rivals. So perhaps Zinnbauer should be feeling pressure, or maybe it's just mind games that he is playing.
And indeed Hunt has gone for the same approach in his pre-match comments:
“My opinion is that they [Pirates] are big favourites for the league title," he said. "They have built a good squad.
"They have a lot of players whom I know and obviously worked with [some of the former Bidvest Wits players which Bucs have signed]. So they have a very good squad of players.
"Pirates are much stronger than they were last season. I know what is ahead of us so we look forward to the game."