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Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs should be afraid of Chippa United, who have recently beaten Cape Town City, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits.
Amakhosi should brace themselves for the mother of all battles when they meet the high-riding team in a Telkom Knockout quarterfinal encounter at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Sunday afternoon.
Suddenly, the Chilli Boys are hot and are the team to beat after three consecutive victories that followed five successive draws.
Firing on all cylinders
Whatever Teboho Moloi has been doing with Chippa behind the scenes is beginning to pay dividends.
This should make them favourites going into this clash.
Chippa have not only been playing an entertaining brand of football, but an effective one, particularly when going forward.
After upsetting Sundowns in the last 16 rounds of the tournament, they went on to convincingly beat Wits in their own backyard on Wednesday evening.
Steve Komphela should be worried about Chippa’s pace going forward, with the likes of Samuel Julies, Paseka Mako and Menzi Masuku firing on all cylinders.
Julies, who scored a brace against Wits, has now scored three in two matches following his goal against Sundowns.
Chiefs’ rearguard will have to be at their best to stop Chippa’s youngsters.
They go to the game after three clean sheets against Orlando Pirates, AmaZulu and Polokwane City.
This is largely due to Itumeleng Khune’s heroics in goals, which has kept them in the game so far.
Pushes forward
But something that will be worrying Komphela is the fact that his players are missing clear-cut scoring chances. Despite creating chances, Chiefs fired blanks against City on Tuesday, and Komphela will have to work on this aspect of their game to improve.
Chiefs will pose their own threats as George Maluleka and Joseph Molangoane have recently rediscovered their form.
The duo have given Chiefs the needed boost, especially when attacking, and Chippa should be wary of them.
Molangoane should be even more motivated playing against his former team-mates.
The two teams will bring Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to a standstill as a spot in the semi-finals beckons one of them. This should be an entertaining affair as Chippa always pushes forward.
If their recent performances are anything to go by, supporters are in for a treat.
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