Orlando Pirates will aim to benefit from the relief in pressure that an improved league position can bring as they prepare to face the Absa Premiership's form team, Mamelodi Sundowns, at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

Pirates' 1-0 win against Pretoria University at Tuks Stadium on Saturday was not flawless. There were periods Bucs appeared to clearly still be feeling the burden of the 12th position they went into the game in, labouring to score despite a wealth of territory and chances until Thabo Matlaba's 70th-minute strike.

But it was a third match unbeaten for Pirates, and a second win in succession for just the second time this season.

"Psychologically, it's a massive boost," said Pirates coach Eric Tinkler. "But we were well aware that if we could get on a bit of a winning streak the gap from the top eight was not that great, and we could easily catch them. Now what's important is to continue climbing that table and get back to where we belong.

"Going forward we'll see this type of performance more and more, and the confidence growing. What makes life tougher is that our next opposition is not small. It's Sundowns. But again, I don't need to motivate the players for that."

There have been some key performances for Bucs in their 1-1 Soweto derby draw against Kaizer Chiefs, 2-1 win against Ajax Cape Town at Orlando in midweek, and on Saturday.

Edwin Gyimah has come in at centre-back and looked the part with his pace, positioning and physicality. Matlaba has been his forceful self attacking from left-back.

"We've been playing a lot of matches in the 4-4-2 formation. Kermit is a player who knows how to play in the hole [between midfield and striker]," Tinkler said.

"When we lost Kermit we needed to find someone who could do that for us, and Sifiso was our natural choice. I knew him from my days at Wits, and we were quite successful back in 2013 in the Champions League with him playing that role."

Tuks remain rooted in second-last position. They meet SuperSport United at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday.