Abdeslam Ouaddou warns Orlando Pirates against 'selling the bear skin' ahead of PSL title showdowns with Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs

When Mamelodi Sundowns visit Orlando Pirates' at the FNB Stadium, there will be one mission for both teams: collect maximum points.

The Buccaneers now hold a healthy six-point lead having played one more match than the Pretoria side.

But once this blockbuster encounter is done and dusted, no matter the result, Pirates will then face their Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs on February 28, again looking to maximise their points to keep their title ambitions on track.

Ouaddou urged caution ahead of the blockbuster double-header.

"I want to answer you with one French saying that we don't have to sell the bear skin before killing the bear," the Moroccan coach said according to iDiski Times.

"We play games after games. We know exactly what we want... 

"We just have one vision. But we need to go step by step.

"You know, it's very important to get match by match," Ouaddou added.

Meanwhile, veteran 36-year-old midfielder Makhehlene Makhaula also spoke to the media about the upcoming clash against Sundowns.

"For me, I take each and every game as a big match but with Sundowns everyone is looking forward to the game because I think somewhere, somehow it is sad always seeing them win the league," Makhaula told the media, as reported by FarPost.

He then echoed his coach as he dismissed talk of the match being a league decider.

"I can say that winning will make us happy because everyone is looking at this fixture and everyone is saying it could be the decider of the league but I’m saying what if we play a draw?" he added.

"What if we win or they win? And there are also other teams that are competing because we’re not only playing Sundowns.

"Those points against the other teams are important. So we need to push them hard."

In the last five games, Downs have registered just three wins, a draw and a loss across all competitions.

On the other hand, Bucs have four wins and a draw in all competitions.

Masandawana face a further challenge: Bafana Bafana midfielder Bathusi Aubaas will not be available due to suspension.

Matches between the two teams have generally been tight affairs, more likely to end in a draw than a conclusive result like Sundowns 4-1 win in February last year. That result was quickly avenged when Pirates won the home fixture 2-1 just over a month later.

Against Chiefs, Pirates recent record is much more rosy with the Buccaneers having won five of the last six meetings across all competitions, but Chiefs single win was their most recent encounter, the 2025 Nedbank Cup final which saw them triumph 2-1 and put an end to their 10-year trophy drought.