Orlando Pirates assistant coach Rhulani Mokwena believes Willard Katsande is the real threat in the Kaizer Chiefs squad ahead of the Soweto Derby this weekend.

The Zimbabwe international has established himself as one of the best central midfielders in the ABSA Premiership since moving to Amakhosi from Ajax Cape Town in 2011.

According to Sport24, Mokwena said: “Willard Katsande is always the focal point and an important part of the axis‚ and the foundation of the team. A very matured player. A very important player for them.

“He’s important for the phases of the game‚ because even though they change the line-up‚ the game model and the way they behave on the pitch remains the same.

“You will always find the goalkeepers initiating the build-up phase. You will find the centre-backs splitting‚ full-backs trying to be as high as possible.

“And they want to build from the back‚ and that’s where they actually are the most dangerous. Because when they want to start from the back‚ they want you to come and initiate a high press so that they can get the ball behind for runners like Khama Billiat.

“And the person to do that is Katsande. He needs no more than one touch to be able to deliver the ball to Khama. And that’s dangerous.

“They will do that. They look good when they do that‚ Katsande is very influential for them when they do that‚ and we expect him to continue to do that.

Meanwhile, Billiat will be hoping to recover on time and feature in his first Soweto Derby on Saturday. The winger suffered a back injury on national duty with the Warriors last week.