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Cape Town - Baroka and Wits meet in the Telkom Knockout for the second season in a row after the Clever Boys claimed a 1-0 success in the quarter-finals in 2017 on their way to lifting the trophy. Egyptian forward Amr Gamal scored the only goal of the game on that occasion.
Baroka have reached the semi-final stage of the Telkom Knockout for the first time in their history having exited in the quarter-finals in the previous two seasons.
Wits will play their fifth Telkom Knockout semi-final in the PSL era. They lost in 2003 and 2004 but claimed victories in 2011 and 2017.
Baroka and Wits have clashed in five previous occasions with the encounters largely dominated by the Johannesburg team. They have four wins and a draw from those encounters, while they have outscored their opponents 10-1.
In fact, Baroka have yet to score from open play against Wits in almost eight hours of football, with their only goal a penalty from Gift Motupa in a 1-1 league draw at Wits last season.
Wits’ previous two away games against Baroka have resulted in 2-0 and 1-0 wins. Both were league encounters.
Wits have won each of their last six Telkom Knockout fixtures, scoring 10 goals in that time and conceding only three. Their last defeat was a 3-1 first round loss to Free State Stars in 2016.
This will be Baroka’s seventh Telkom Knockout game since they won promotion for the 2016/17 season and will be the sixth time they have played at home. The only time they have played away was that 1-0 loss at Wits last year.
Baroka have been involved in 11 cup matches in all competitions in their Premier Soccer League history. They have won seven and lost four.
In all Wits have played 43 matches in the Telkom Knockout in the PSL era. They have won 19 of those, lost 17 and been involved in seven draws. They have scored 43 goals to their opponents’ 42.
Wits are the defending Telkom Knockout champions. They endured a difficult campaign in the 2017/18 season but shone in this competition as they claimed a third victory to follow successes in 1985 and 1995.
Kick-off is Sunday at 15:00.
