Jose Riveiro details how Orlando Pirates recovered from heavy defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of Nedbank Cup clash with Baroka FC

Mamelodi Sundowns beat Orlando Pirates 4-2 in a Premier Soccer League match last weekend.

It was a big loss for the Buccaneers who now look to recover when they host Baroka FC in the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 match at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

“The start of this week was more about rest, recovery, from a conditioning and physiological perspective," Riveiro told reporters.

"I think mentally we did our job also trying to understand why we couldn’t be as good as we would have liked to be [against Sundowns]. It was a good reflection from our side about understanding what happened.

"Trying to make that tough week, not only the last game, but the week itself, something we can capitalise on in the future as well. Another opportunity for us as a team to compete in the Nedbank Cup, happy to have some time to prepare for the gamer this week, we’re looking forward to Saturday to come back to Orlando," added the Spaniard.

“It's been a while, I think the last game was CRB in the Champions League, so it’s been a while. We are well prepared, knowing the type of opponent we’ll be playing, so yeah, we’re prepared.”

After the heavy loss last weekend, the Buccaneers have TS Galaxy to thank for defeating Masandawana in a PSL match on Tuesday.

That was a lost opportunity by Sundowns to increase their lead on the standings and the two team's gap remains at nine points.

With Pirates having two league games in hand, they have high hopes of knocking off the Brazilians from the top of the table.

Defeating National First Division side Baroka on Saturday would help the Buccaneers pick themselves up from last weekend's loss.

They are this tournament's defending champions and are gunning for a third successive Nedbank Cup title.