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Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has profiled Orlando Pirates to reveal how they’ve improved under Jose Riveiro in the 2023/24 season.
Pirates come into the game 11 points behind the reigning champions and current league leaders with two games in hand.
And while they suffered a 1-0 loss to Jwaneng Galaxy on Sunday in the first leg CAF Champions League 2nd round tie, they’ve earned plenty of plaudits for their vibrant attacking style of play spearheaded by the form of Zakhele Lepasa up front.
“I think first there’s been big coaching improvements, you can see it with the team, there’s clarity in some of the organisational forms, that is supported by when you look at the numbers and form in relation to how they’ve started,” Mokwena said ahead of the game.
“They have played nine matches, six wins, two losses and a draw, scored 18 goals, with Zakhele Lepasa scoring 10 of those and then of course moving into that space of being the first Pirates player to score 10 goals as quickly as he has.
“They’ve conceded six, but that’s not the data that’s most important, it profiles their form. What profiles their playing system is that they have averaged 60% ball possession, which means as compared to last season… they keep more of the ball this season.
“They play faster, average 20 second per possession span, ours is a little bit more because we play a little bit in moments and we have a different way of playing, they create a lot of situations from crosses, averaging nine crosses per match.
“They create about 13 chances per match with an xG of 1.7 per match, so already you can profile and see where the team is from an offensive perspective, so overall there’s been big improvements and we know we’re playing a very good team where a lot of detail, small details will make the difference.”
The two sides meet on Wednesday evening in their DStv Premiership encounter at Orlando Stadium (19h30).
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