AmaZulu and Maritzburg United will have their first ever cup meeting in a KwaZulu-Natal derby in the first round of the Telkom Knockout at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

Both sides had fairly disappointing league campaigns that saw them finish outside of the top eight. AmaZulu ended in ninth place on 39 points, while Maritzburg were four points behind in 11th.

'Usuthu' ended the league season in better form than their regional rivals, winning all of their last three games (including a comprehensive victory over champions SuperSport United) while Ernst Middendorp's 'Team of Choice won just one of their last four PSL matches.

Recent form, then, suggests that Neil Tovey's men in green and white should be confident of becoming the fifth team to book a place in the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals.

However, Maritzburg United have a remarkable record against AmaZulu, as they are unbeaten in the six league games that the sides have played against each other since the 2006/07 season.

In fact, the Team of Choice did a league 'double' over their rivals in the 2009/10 Absa Premiership season, winning 2-0 at home and 1-0 away.

The second league encounter was of particular interest as it was the first competitive match at the new Moses Mabhida Stadium and saw Maritzburg claim a famous 1-0 win thanks to striker Fadlu Davids, who has plundered five goals against Usuthu down the years and will hope to continue his hot streak against them this weekend.

The pain of that defeat and the desire for revenge should be a big motivating factor for AmaZulu but they don't have a good record in this competition since 2006 when sponsors Telkom took over the naming rights.

"Traditionally we haven't done well against them, its a tough encounter but we very positive in the way in which we have been working hard - we should achieve a positive result on Saturday," AmaZulu coach Neil Tovey told the club's official website.

He added: "We have seen they have a few dangerous players, however, we will be well prepared to face them."

Tovey's team has only once progressed beyond the first round in the past three editions of the competition. In 2006 and 2008 they were knocked out in the first round by Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United respectively, while in 2007 they beat Platinum Stars to reach the last eight but were then sent packing by Bloemfontein Celtic.

Maritzburg United?s record in the Telkom Knockout is even worse than that of their KwaZulu-Natal rivals. The Pietermaritzburg-based side has fallen by the wayside in the first round of both the 2006 and 2008 editions ? beaten by Orlando Pirates and Free State Stars respectively.

They were not part of the 2007 Telkom Knockout as they had been relegated to the second tier at the end of the previous season.