Orlando Pirates braced for a red-letter day when taking on Libya’s blue-eyed boys Al-Ittihad

Cape Town - Orlando Pirates are hoping to make it a red-letter day when they play the blue-eyed boys of Libyan football, Al-Ittihad, in a CAF Confederation Cup Group B clash at the Martyrs of February Stadium, in Benghazi, on Sunday evening.

The Libyan Football Federation are so passionate about Al-Ittihad, their reigning league champions, that they have suspended their domestic to allow the team to prepare intensely for their Confederation Cup opener. Al-Ittihad last played at the end of January.

Pirates, on the other hand, have made an auspicious start to their Confederation Cup with a well-taken 2-0 win over the crack Algerian side JS Saoura in Orlando last weekend. Their impressive performance was a far cry from their dismal form that earned them dull draws in half of their DStv Premiership matches. The 10 draws include a few goalless stalemates as well.

A win in Benghazi on Sunday will consolidate Pirates' position as Group B log-leaders. It will also boost the confidence in the squad that have been strengthened by players returning from lengthy injury-enforced lay-offs. One of them is midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch, who is growing in stature since returning to the side three weeks ago. He had a hand in both Pirates' goals against JS Saoura last week.

Pirates co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids who have taken over the reins since the departure of head coach Josef Zinnbauer in August last year are both excited that players have regained fitness.

“This is the first time [in two seasons] where we have 95 to 98% player availability,” said Davids. “Everyone is back, and you could see a difference in the training sessions.

"Everybody is fighting for a place, and in the first round [of the Premiership] we did not have