South African clubs are set for CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup fixtures this weekend, with Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns all taking to the field.

Mamelodi Sundowns travel to Angola on Sunday to face Wiliete in a challenging away fixture, while Orlando Pirates head to Botswana on Saturday to take on Namibia’s African Stars at a neutral venue. Both matches are part of the CAF Champions League.

Kaizer Chiefs also face an away test on Saturday when they travel to Zambia to meet Red Arrows. Meanwhile, Durban City, competing in their first season, will host Mauritius’ ASPL 2000 on Sunday.

Ahead of the upcoming fixtures, here is a look at the biggest victories and heaviest defeats recorded by South Africa’s ‘Big Three’ — Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns — in African club competitions.

Mamelodi Sundowns

Biggest win: 11-1 vs Côte d’Or (Seychelles), CAF Champions League 2019/20

Heaviest defeat: 1-6 vs Africa Sports (Côte d’Ivoire), CAF Champions League 2000

Mamelodi Sundowns’ emphatic 11-1 victory over Seychelles’ Côte d’Or stands as a record-breaking result for South African clubs in African competitions. It also ranks as the biggest win in the history of the CAF Champions League.

Sibusiso Vilakazi produced an outstanding performance, scoring a first-half hat-trick and setting up three additional goals to contribute directly to six goals. Themba Zwane added a brace, while Gaston Sirino and Mauricio Affonso were also among the scorers.

The Brazilians registered 31 shots on goal during the match, underlining their attacking dominance despite missing several further opportunities.

Sundowns’ heaviest defeat in African competition came in 2000, when they suffered a 6-1 loss away to Ivorian club Africa Sports in a Champions League group-stage encounter. The result remains the club’s biggest defeat on the continental stage and is among the heaviest losses recorded by a South African side in African club competition.

Kaizer Chiefs

Biggest win: 5-0 vs Lobatse Gunners (Botswana), Champions Cup 1993

Heaviest defeats: 0-4 vs Espérance Tunis (Tunisia), Champions League 2005; 0-4 vs Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Champions League 2020/21

Kaizer Chiefs recorded their biggest victory in African club competition during their first-ever continental tie 33 years ago, when they defeated Botswana’s Lobatse Gunners 5-0.

The commanding second-leg performance came after Chiefs had secured a narrow 1-0 win away from home in the opening encounter.

The Soweto club’s heaviest continental defeats have both been 4-0 losses against North African opposition, with each result coming away from home.

One of those defeats came against Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca during the 2020/21 Champions League group stage. However, Chiefs later turned the tables on the same opponents, defeating Wydad in the semi-finals before losing to Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in the final.

Their other 4-0 defeat came against Tunisian giants Espérance in Tunis in the 2005 Champions League campaign.

Orlando Pirates

Biggest win: 6-0 vs Botswana Defence Force XI (Botswana), African Cup Winners’ Cup 1999

Heaviest defeats: 0-4 vs ASEC Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), CAF Champions League 2006; 0-4 vs Raja Casablanca (Morocco), CAF Confederation Cup 2020/21

Orlando Pirates share a similar record with their domestic rivals, with their biggest victory in African club competition also coming against opposition from Botswana. The Buccaneers thrashed Botswana Defence Force XI 6-0 in the 1999 African Cup Winners’ Cup.

Six different players found the net in that dominant performance: Simon Makhubela, Phumlani Mkhize, Joseph Ngake, Andries Sebola, Steve Lekoelea and Denis Lota.

Pirates’ heaviest defeats in African competition have both come by a 4-0 scoreline. The first was against Ivorian outfit ASEC Abidjan in the 2006 CAF Champions League group stage, while the second came against Morocco’s Raja Casablanca in the second leg of their 2020/21 CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final.