Moroka Swallows coach Julio Leal says his team is more than ready for Saturday's Soweto derby against rivals Kaizer Chiefs when the two sides meet in their MTN8 first leg semi-final at Loftus Stadium (kick-off 8.15pm).

"At the moment I know what I need to know about Chiefs. Our preparations have been good and are improving since we started training," Leal told SAPA.

Chiefs thrashed Santos 4-0 in their MTN8 quarterfinal clash, whilst Swallows edged Ajax Cape Town 4-3 in their Last Eight match.

Leal admitted that his team's defence still needed some time to settle down and that the departure of Bevan Fransman had affected his plans somewhat.

"We have seen footage of Chiefs, but we cannot make specific plans to stop them. We have to play the way we want to play, we have to force our opponents to change their style and not focus on them. They are a good team but we have to focus on our approach which is to attack," explained Leal.

"That is the way I like to play, to go on the offensive. Yes, our defence did not do very well in the last game but it is an area we have to work on. Bevan (Fransman) was here training with us and then he left and I had to start a new defensive combination.

"So the new defenders are not used to each other yet and it will take time to form a strong combination," added Leal.

Meanwhile, Chiefs defender Onismor Bhasera says his team has put the Santos victory behind them and are focusing solely on the Swallows game.

"Swallows are playing in the Premier Soccer League, so we are going to prepare for them as we prepare for other teams. We have to do our job against Swallows," Bhasera told the official Chiefs website.

"We are happy to be playing at home first, so it is very important that we do not concede any goal. We have to go all out and get a comfortable win at home.

"It is important that we continue playing as a team as we did against Santos last Saturday," concluded Bhasera.