Stellenbosch reserves head coach Evangelos Vellios has played down talk of them being the favourites for the DStv Diski Shield, insisting the big teams will be the front-runners in the competition. 

The Winelands side will take on Maritzburg United at the Wits Football Stadium (9.30am) on Sunday in the last eight of the knockout competition. 

The past two editions of the Diski Shield tournament were won by Golden Arrows and Kaizer Cheifs. But Stellies have been installed as favourites as they are the most recent winners of the DStv Diski Challenge. 

Vellios rebuffed all that talk, and instead picked the four Gauteng-based sides – Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United as major threats. 

"Naturally, there will be that sort of tag, I still think the big guns – Pirates, Chiefs, Sundowns and SuperSport – will be your favourites," said Vellios. "We are going to take it a game at a time and see how far we can go. Hopefully, we can survive this game and go through. Then it will be two games to go. We are going to try and win it because that's what we do. 

"We understand it's a new cycle, a new group of players coming in as well. We believe we are building a squad that's strong enough to compete, but time will tell because they need to gel," he said. 

Stellenbosch are set to have a long season, with the Diski Shield, a tour to the UK and the long DDC season ahead. To manage the situation, Vellios gave the players an extended break to allow their bodies to recuperate before the season starts. "It's going to be a test for them, we are taking it as a great opportunity for them," said Vellios. 

"It will have its challenges, there will be travelling. That's why we gave them a longer break. If we had brought them too early, they would have been sharp for this game but then during the season they would be dealing with fatigue and injuries, which are things we don't need," he said.