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Focus back on the DStv Premiership this weekend

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Aubrey Modiba of Mamelodi Sundowns challenged by Thamsanqa Mkhize of Cape Town City during the DStv Premiership 2022/23 match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria on 04 April 2023 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

There are seven fixtures to be played in the DStv Premiership this weekend with a focus on both ends of the table as teams jostle for position.

There are many questions yet to be answered before the long break for the African Cup of Nations finals that will see topflight teams idle for some six weeks.

Will Cape Town Spurs complete half a season with just a single victory? They have lost 13 of their opening 14 games as they travel to AmaZulu on Friday, who themselves are not in the greatest of form but are coming off a 1-0 home win over Sekhukhune United.

Usuthu are seeking back-to-back league wins for the first time since August as they push for a top eight place. Victory will see them climb above Kaizer Chiefs and into sixth, temporarily at least.

Spurs are already 12 points from safety, but perhaps more realistically seven points from the play-off place. That is probably the best they can hope for, though it would be some great escape.

They have not won away at AmaZulu since 2012, when Bradley Grobler scored the winner for them.

Kaizer Chiefs will be aiming for three wins in a row when they take on second-bottom Richards Bay on Saturday and the real question is whether their miss-firing forwards will come to the party.

The AmaKhosi have managed 14 goals in 14 league games this season, and just 46 in 44 games since the start of 2022/23. Of those, only 10 have come from their forwards in open play, less than one every four matches. It is a shocking stat.

Richards Bay’s only victory in their previous 14 away games did come in Soweto when they defeated Moroka Swallows 1-0 in September. The KZN side have won at Chiefs before, they did so in the 2021 Nedbank Cup while still a second-tier side.

Orlando Pirates face a real test of their resurgent recent form when they travel to SuperSport United on Saturday in a battle between two sides with eyes on Champions League qualification for next season.

SuperSport are currently second in the table with 26 points and Pirates one place, and one point, behind them. Pirates have won five of their last six games (D1), though their away form has been more patchy this season. They have defeats to Stellenbosch FC and, more shockingly, Cape Town Spurs, to go with draws at Chippa United, AmaZulu and Richards Bay.

Their only two victories have come at Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby and Lamontville Golden Arrows. SuperSport had lost a club record five in a row before back-to-back wins against Swallows and Al Hilal in the Confederation Cup.

Lamontville Golden Arrows coach Mabhuti Khenyeza caused some social media ire this week when he said players don’t need sports psychologists, but how he mends his team’s shattered confidence after six straight defeats is the key question.

The club record for losses in a row is seven, set in 2013/14 as they prepare to welcome TS Galaxy on Saturday. The latter are looking to get over their Carling Cup final defeat to Stellenbosch FC last weekend.

Luckily for Arrows, Galaxy are the second worst travellers in the DStv Premiership with a single point from six games on the road and no goals scored. Can they at least find the back of the net at the seventh attempt? Galaxy’s only ever win at Arrows wad the 2019 Nedbank Cup semifinal while still a second-tier side.

Cape Town City will be the next in line to try and stop Mamelodi Sundowns this season and if they are to have any hope at all of lifting the DStv Premiership title, will have to win at the Cape Town Stadium in a first ever South African soccer match to be played on Christmas Eve on Sunday.
Sundowns have won all 11 matches played so far, and have not lost in the league for 35 games dating back to September 2022.

It is a huge task for City, but with Sundowns having had to travel to Egypt and back for Champions League action as part of a hectic schedule, perhaps that gives them some hope. City had won a club record six league games in a row before a 1-0 loss to Stellenbosch FC on December 8.

They have had two weeks to recover body and mind since then. The last seven meetings between the sides since 2020 have seen Sundowns win three to go with four draws.

They have won two of their last three visits to the Mother City (D1).