The first legs of the MTN8 semifinals will be staged this weekend as Sekhukhune United host champions Orlando Pirates on Saturday and Mamelodi Sundowns welcome Lamontville Golden Arrows on Sunday.
Orlando Pirates have won the last four editions of the MTN8, and five of the last six, so the question is whether anyone can knock them off their perch?
Here is a guide to the two ties, with the second legs to be staged the following weekend.
Orlando Pirates v Sekhukhune United
These two sides will meet three times in eight days, with a league game coincidentally scheduled for Tuesday next week between their MTN8 semifinal legs. They will be sick of the sight of each other.
Pirates are already extremely wary of the Limpopo club, who have had their number in recent times.
Sekhukhune have won three of the last five meetings, including two away at Pirates, and have another draw in that run. Pirates have a single victory.
Sundowns apart, no other team has enjoyed such success against the Buccaneers over that period.
Pirates do lead the overall head-to-head 6-4, with two draws, and did claim victory when the teams met in the 2023 Nedbank Cup final in Pretoria.
Months later, they also thumped Sekhukhune 5-0 in the MTN8 quarterfinals.
Pirates have not lost an MTN8 semifinal since 2012, featuring in seven since then and advancing every time.
Sekhukhune’s only previous last-four clash was against Stellenbosch FC in 2025 and they lost 3-1 on aggregate.
Mamelodi Sundowns v Lamontville Golden Arrows
Sundowns’ poor record in the MTN8 of late is well documented, but they will see this as a real chance to advance to a final and will fancy themselves to beat Lamontville Golden Arrows over 180 minutes.
But they too have not had it all their own way against their opponents, with the last three meetings producing a win each and a draw.
In fact, Sundowns are winless in their last four visits to Abafana Bes’thende (D3 L1) since 2021, though in fairness they have been utterly dominant at home, winning the last seven meetings on their own patch and scoring 26 goals in the process, almost four per game.
The teams last met in the MTN8 five years ago and it was also a semifinal tie, which Sundowns won before going on to lift the trophy. A good omen, perhaps.
They drew 1-1 in Durban and then claimed a 3-0 victory in Pretoria.
Golden Arrows have not been to the top-eight final since 2009, when they thumped Ajax Cape Town 6-0 in the decider, still the biggest victory ever in a major South African cup final.
Sundowns have reached the semifinals in each of the last four years and lost three times in that run. They were beaten by Pirates in the 2023 decider.
Their 2021 success in the MTN8 remains one of only two victories in this competition in the PSL era, and four overall, to go with 1988, 1990, and 2007.