University of Pretoria are in Thohoyandou to take on Venda Football Academy in the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup today at 3pm. They have the difficult task of breaching the fortress that is the Thohoyandou Stadium. 

The stadium is renowned as one of the most intimidating venues in SA football, even without the presence of spectators.

Johnny Ferreira's VFA team have been solid at Thohoyandou this season in the GladAfrica Championship. They have played nine matches at home, winning five times, drawing three and only losing once. In the Nedbank Cup preliminary round they defeated Pretoria Callies and in the round of 32 they beat Cape Town All Stars.

AmaTuks, on the other hand, have been in fine form in the second tier since the resumption of football. They have managed to put themselves in contention for automatic promotion. They went on to get an impressive win over Chippa United in the last 32. Now they have the mammoth task of beating VFA at home if they want to progress to the last eight. 

“Venda is one of the strongest teams in the league. Obviously, we are expecting a very difficult team under the supervision of the well-travelled and experienced coach Johnny Ferreira, who I have maximum respect for,” said University of Pretoria head coach Tlisane Motaung. 

“We noticed that they are a team that does not lose at home. They have only lost one match at home. It's a very difficult type of opponent. Defensively they are very solid, they don't concede much. We are aware of those variables. 

“They have got a couple of players that are really stepping up. We have to be ready for the encounter. We have to bring our A-plus game in order for us to surpass this type of opponent. We need to make sure we execute properly,” said Motaung.