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Johannesburg - Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson believes the victor in their quarter-final match against Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria on Saturday will go on to be crowned Nedbank Cup champions.
"We just want to play football on Sunday and make sure the best team wins," Johnson said on Wednesday.
"I am sure that the best team, that wins, will win the trophy."
At a joint media conference, Johnson and his Sundowns counterpart Pitso Mosimane were at odds as to which side were the favourites going into the clash.
"We all know that it is important to go through but I believe we are underdogs in this game, playing a very good team that is on form and free scoring," Mosimane said.
The former Bafana mentor, however, gave his side a chance of beating Stars following the Brazilians' 3-1 league victory over Ajax Cape Town last week.
While Mosimane was pleased that his strikers were finally converting opportunities into goals, he bemoaned their inability to regularly find the back of the net.
"I am happy that we created five chances and scored three. Normally we create 12 and we don't score," he said.
"I am happy to have a team that create chances and the players have been there to try and convert the chances."
The two sides last met in a league match in Phokeng at the end of March, when they settled for a 1-1 draw.
"We played them in the league in Rustenburg and I believe we could have won," Mosimane said.
"We have another opportunity to play against a very good team that scores easily.
"We are looking forward to the match. It is a cup game and we are looking for a win."
A victory for Stars - who are still in the running for the league title, lying in second position - would keep their dream alive of lifting two trophies this season.
Sundowns, however, have only the knockout competition to look forward to, as they are lying in 11th place on the league log, and Mosimane stressed the importance of winning the trophy to ensure themselves a place in next season's CAF Confederation Cup.
He said his players were entirely focussed on lifting the cross-league cup for the first time since 2008.
"We are going to give our best for the cup because we are not distracted by the league."
