Here are the talking points ahead of the games.
Sekhukhune strong at home
Sekhukhune have played two games at home so far this season and won them both without conceding a goal, against Durban City (1-0) and local rivals Polokwane City (2-0).
Those two games were played at the Seshego Stadium, while this one will be at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium as Sekhukhune’s regular home venue across the road undergoes pitch maintenance, a common theme for many clubs in the early part of the campaign.
Coupled with an epic 4-3 away win over AmaZulu in the last round of the MTN8, it has been a fine start to the season for the side under new coach Cedric Kaze, blemished only by a 2-0 loss at the latter’s former club Kaizer Chiefs.
This will be their biggest test, though, and the first of three meetings against Pirates in eight days, with an away league clash squeezed in midweek.
Sekhukhune have been pretty decent at home to Pirates, with two wins and a draw in five previous meetings, though they did lose 5-0 to them in an MTN8 quarter-final in 2023, albeit on the road.
They certainly have a squad capable of causing an upset and this home leg will be key. Pirates do not lose many in Orlando.
Dominant Pirates
Pirates have not lost an MTN8 semi-final tie since 2012 and their incredible success in this competition over the last few years has seen them lift the trophy in each of the previous four seasons.
Take that back further and they have won in five of the last six campaigns to become the dominant force in the MTN8.
Since 2020, they have lost two of their 22 MTN8 ties, and one of those did not matter in the end.
They were beaten 2-1 at home by Moroka Swallows in the quarter-finals in 2021 in a surprise result, and lost 1-0 on their own patch to Stellenbosch FC in 2023 in the second leg of a semi-final tie, but still advanced on the away-goals rule.
For the rest, they have 15 wins and five draws in that time.
They have, in fact, not lost an away MTN8 tie in 10 years, since a 2-1 defeat at the now-defunct BidVest Wits in the quarter-finals.
In 13 away ties in the competition since 2010, that is their only loss at any stage.
Remarkably, their last away loss at the semi-final stage was against Kaizer Chiefs (0-1) in 2001.
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Sundowns’ poor domestic cup record
Mamelodi Sundowns have been surprisingly poor in the MTN8 down the years given their quality and have only four victories in the competition’s history, the last in 2021.
They have traditionally been slow starters to seasons, building up a head of steam for the second half of the campaign, but even so have been poor across all knockout competitions.
In the period in which they won eight league titles in a row, as well as last season when they claimed the CAF Champions League title, they won just four domestic knockout competitions – the MTN8, the Nedbank Cup in 2020 and 2022, and the Telkom Knockout in 2019.
As a club, they would have expected far greater success and, while they play more matches than most, in that time they have also had far greater squad depth to manage the heavy workload.
They have won three of their last eight MTN8 ties, two of those in extra-time, both against Polokwane City. Their only resounding win in that time was a 4-0 success against Richards Bay in the quarter-finals in 2025.
They have two defeats in that time to Stellenbosch FC and two penalty shoot-out losses to Orlando Pirates.
It has all been a bit scratchy, with only two clean sheets in their last 10 ties. It is a competition that seems to bring out the worst in the side for whatever reason.
Miserly Golden Arrows
Lamontville Golden Arrows are hoping to reach their first final since they were resounding champions in 2009 with a 6-0 hammering of Ajax Cape Town, still the biggest winning margin in a major domestic cup final.
They go into this game on a remarkable run of seven consecutive clean sheets, five of which have come in games that ended 0-0. Another was a 1-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in their MTN8 quarter-final and a 2-0 league win away at Chippa United.
Under coach Pitso Dladla, they have become tough to penetrate, but even before that, at the tail end of last season, they had built a formidable defence.
The only player to score against them in their last 10 games – around 16 hours of football – is AmaZulu’s Sandile Mthethwa at the start of May.
It is a remarkable run, but one that will be tested by Mamelodi Sundowns’ array of top attacking talent.
Sundowns have found Golden Arrows to their liking in recent seasons, especially at home, winning the last seven meetings since a 0-0 draw in 2021. They have scored 27 goals in that time and conceded two.
As much as Golden Arrows have been miserly at the back, they have not exactly set the world alight up front.
They have conceded just once in their last 10 games but have scored only four goals themselves in that time. It makes them a tough watch.