Orlando Pirates will be without Innocent Maela, as he sustained a hamstring injury against Kaizer Chiefs last Saturday.
Maela is unavailable for the MTN8 final against AmaZulu, forcing Pirates to make a tactical tweak.
The two sides clash encounter in the much-awaited final on Saturday evening [18:00] at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
REPLACEMENT FOR MAELA
The left-footed defender has formed a solid defensive partnership with Olisa Ndah and Nkosinathi Sibisi under José Riveiro.
Pirates have seemingly found their defensive formula, which saw them concede only once on the road to the MTN8 final.
However, the Buccaneers could be forced to make a tweak in their defensive set-up. Former AmaZulu captain and centre-back Tapelo Xoki could come in as a replacement for Maela.
Xoki has had a slow start to life at Pirates. But the towering defender is in line to face his former club AmaZulu in the final.
The Soweto giants could have Xoki, Sibisi and Ndah as their back three. Deon Hotto and Thabiso Monyane could slot in as wing-backs.
Interestingly, Pirates are currently one of the teams with the best defensive record in the DStv Premiership. They have conceded seven goals in 13 games.
On the road to the final, Pirates have only conceded one goal, which came against Royal AM in the quarter-final stages of the tournament.
HEART OF DEFENCE
Furthermore, the Sea Robbers welcome back the midfield crafter Miguel Timm who was suspended against Chiefs after receiving his fourth yellow card of the campaign.
Vincent Pule is also expected back into the match day squad after recovering from a long layoff that kept him out of the team since the start of the 2022/23 season.
With Paseka Mako also in contention to replace the injured Maela, it remains to be seen who will be preferred in the heart of defence.
The Houghton-based outfit will be looking to bounce back from the Soweto derby loss and clinch the MTN8 final.
