- Mamelodi Sundowns will be aiming to end their 14-year MTN8 drought as the tournament kicks off this weekend.
- Masandawana entertain rivals Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium as the South African domestic campaign starts.
- Brazilians head coach Manqoba Mngqithi admits that even during Pitso Mosimane's tenure he wanted to win the competition, as they last won it in 2007.
The domestic football season kicks off this weekend with the start of the MTN8 Cup quarter-finals.
On Saturday, Golden Arrows entertain SuperSport United (kick-off is at 15:00) while Orlando Pirates face Swallows FC (18:00).
Last season's surprise packages, AmaZulu, clash against Cape Town City on Sunday (18:00), but the weekend's eye-catching fixture is the mouth-watering tie between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns (15:00).
Amakhosi head coach Stuart Baxter has already laid down his war of words targeted at the Brazilians and is confident in silencing Sundowns on Sunday.
Despite Masandawana's dominance in the DStv Premiership and CAF Champions League, they have struggled to stamp their authority on the MTN8.
They have last tasted victory in the competition back in 2007 when the tournament was under a different sponsor and known as the SAA Supa Eight Cup.
But head coach Manqoba Mngqithi remains eager to brush off any ideas that Sundowns cannot win the first significant piece of silverware on the domestic calendar.
"The honest truth is that in the seven years that I have been here, there were many obstacles that were presented which is why we did not win this cup," he told reporters on Thursday.
"At some point, we had too many signings, and we tried to play in the first match, and I think we lost to Platinum Stars because the team did not gel properly.
"Another scenario is when we are playing MTN8 at the same time we are continuing in the latter stages of the Champions League.
"I remember when we lost to Wits in the final, we were unfortunate on that one because we also had Zesco semi-final away from home. We had too many issues that were making the team not as fresh as we would have liked.
"And another scenario was when we bombed out because of Cape Town City, which I think on that one, we were just unfortunate because there were very serious wrong offside calls that were made and that compromised us.
"But the truth of the matter is, it is one cup that, in one way or the other, we've always struggled to win the MTN8 Cup.
"It is a cup that we all know, and now we are fighting for it. And I don't want to lie, even coach Pitso (Mosimane) has been trying his best to win this cup, but for whatever reason, it is one cup that has always been very tricky for us in many ways.
"After a very long time, the team had a proper pre-season this time around, and we are hoping that we will be able to stamp our authority from the beginning of the season."
Kick-off is on Sunday at 15:00.