While some of the teams affiliated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship League will be out of action this weekend, business as usual awaits Venda Football Academy (VFA). VFA will be on their Nedbank Cup campaign. They will journey to Johannesburg on Saturday to play against Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium.

Although many critics have already concluded that VFA will kiss the competition goodbye after their game against Pirates, the head coach of VFA, Mr Joel Masutha, has a different view. According to him, Pirates will have to sweat to progress to the quarter-final round of the prestigious competition. He warned Pirates not to expect a walk on the park on Saturday.

VFA’s road to the last-16 round went via Hungry Lions FC, whom they beat 5-4 in their qualification-round match that was played at the Galeshewe Stadium in Kimberley. They then beat Black Cross FC 2-1 at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein in their last-32 round match.

Mr Masutha warned that although his primary objective was to save the team from possible relegation, a win over Pirates on Saturday will go a long way in boosting the players’ morale in their next leagues games.

The combination of Edmore Chirambadara, Lufuno Mulaudzi and Babatunde Adepoju in VFA’s striking force is expected to keep the Pirates’ defence running for cover throughout the game. Manzini scored the team’s equalising goal against University of Pretoria FC in their league match that was played at the Absa Tuks Stadium in Pretoria last Saturday.

Orlando Pirates beat Cape Town All Stars 2-0 to secure a place in the last-16 round.

The other Nedbank Cup last-16 fixtures are Sekhukhune United vs Cape Town Spurs, Dondol Stars FC vs Amazulu FC, Lamontville Golden Arrows vs Royal AM, TS Galaxy vs Stellenbosch FC, Kaizer Chiefs vs Casric Stars and Chippa United vs Mpheni Home Defenders.