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In case you may have forgotten, the Nedbank Cup final is this weekend.
You'd be forgiven for not paying attention because of the fuss being made of Barcelona's arrival to the country this week. Now that the #DownBarca game is behind us, we can look forward to the climax of the PSL's third and final cup competition of the season.
Maritzburg United take on Free State Stars at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday in the final of the Nedbank Cup.
No one could have predicted that The Team of Choice and Ea Lla Koto would be the last two teams remaining. Their better than average league performances have complimented their good cup run. For Free State Stars, a win will earn them their first piece of silverware in 14 years. Maritzburg will be looking to cap off their stellar season with their first-ever trophy in the top flight.
Maritzburg United FC
Maritzburg United finished the season in 4th position behind SA football’s traditional big three, Sundowns, Pirates and Chiefs. Their coach, and my candidate for coach of the season, Fadlu Davids has his young talented team playing attractive attacking football.
Road to the final
Moroka Swallows 1-3 (aet) Maritzburg United
Royal Eagles 1-2 Maritzburg United
Maritzburg United 2-1 Bloemfontein Celtics
Maritzburg United 3-1 Mamelodi Sundowns
Free State Stars under coach Luc Eymael, Free State Stars have made a 180-degree turn from their last season. In their previous campaign, Stars were a bad team who escaped relegation on the last matchday but under the Belgian’s stewardship, they were in the top 4 for much of the season before finishing a respectable sixth.
Stars booked their place in this year’s Nedbank Cup final after beating Kaizer Chiefs 2-0 in the semi-final. The result led to Kaizer Chiefs supporters losing their minds and Steve Komphela's resignation.
And as luck would have it, the man rumoured to take over Steve Komphela's vacancy is the Belgian himself. Eymael will want to deliver the Nedbank Cup as a parting gift.
Road to final
Super Eagles 1-2 (aet) Free State Stars
Free State Stars 2-1 Chippa United
Ubuntu Cape Town 1-1 (penalties) Free State Stars
Kaizer Chiefs 0-2 Free State Stars
Prediction
BET.co.za has Maritzburg United FC as slight favourites at 1.45 for the win, with Free State Stars FC at 1.75. Free State Stars played well for 2/3 of the season but their form tailed off in the latter stages, with Eymael's team finding it difficult to put the ball in the back of the net, only scoring 8 goals in their last 10 games in all competitions. On the other hand, Maritzburg United are a free-scoring team, having scored 16 goals in their last 10 games in all competitions.
This game will be close but you'd have to give the edge to Maritzburg. They should have too much-attacking talent for Stars to handle
Join in the Nedbank Cup final action with BET.co.za
