Cape Town - Orlando Pirates assistant coach Fadlu Davids believes Nigeria international Daniel Akpeyi should crack the nod ahead of Itumeleng Khune in goal for Kaizer Chiefs in Saturday's Soweto Derby.

Akpeyi has been the incumbent for Chiefs in league matches, while fresh-from-injury Khune has been limited to cup matches for the most part.

Both have come under pressure from fans recently and the club's support is largely split on who should be Chiefs' number one.

Nevertheless, Davids expects Akpeyi to start Saturday's game mainly because Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp is unlikely to tinker with his side too much.

"They have a No.1 which is Akpeyi. I don't think they will change. I said before, the form doesn't really matter when it comes to the derby," Davids told the media.

"That is why we're not going into the game relaxing because we've won a couple of games in a row; that's not how you approach the game. This is a new slate."

On the part of Pirates, Davids have distanced himself from claims that this weekend's match is a title decider, with the Buccaneers just six points behind their rivals, albeit having played one game more.

"It is (just) a game and we're not talking about the title race," added Davids.

"That's for Kaizer Chiefs, Sundowns and Bidvest Wits. We are only focusing, as the new coach said, game by game and that's how we have approached all the games so far."

- TEAMtalk media