Orlando Pirates will visit Magesi at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday with their Betway Premiership fate suddenly in their own hands, the report says.
The report says Mamelodi Sundowns’ 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs left Sundowns on 65 points from 28 games with a goal difference of +34, while Pirates have 62 points from 27 matches and a goal difference of +41. The report says that if Pirates beat Magesi on Saturday, Durban City on May 16 and Orbit College on May 23, it is highly likely they will be champions.
Per the report, Sundowns will host Siwelele on Saturday immediately before Pirates’ visit to Magesi, and will have long concluded their Premiership season by the time Abdeslam Ouaddou’s men visit Rustenburg. The report notes Sundowns play their last Premiership game away to TS Galaxy before a two-legged CAF Champions League final against Morocco’s AS FAR on May 17 and 24.
The report says both Pirates and Sundowns have shown signs of wear and tear at the end of a bruising campaign, and that Ouaddou needs to ensure there are no slip-ups in Pirates’ run-in. A nine-day break after the Soweto Derby draw with Kaizer Chiefs is said to have helped, and Pirates returned to action with a 2-0 win over Stellenbosch at Athlone Stadium. The report adds that winger Tshepang Moremi missed that win after aggravating an injury in the Soweto Derby, and that Ouaddou moved Relebohile Mofokeng out wide while deploying Patrick ‘Tito’ Maswanganyi as a number 10.
Magesi head into the weekend in a vital position, the report says, sitting bottom of the 16-team league and on track for automatic relegation. Three points separate them from 13th-placed Chippa, with Orbit College and Marumo Gallants also involved in the survival scrap; Motsie Matima will miss the game for Magesi due to suspension from an accumulation of yellow cards.
The report lists likely team selections for the match and notes the kickoff is Saturday, May 9 at 20:00 CAT (18:00 GMT). The game will air on SuperSport PSL (DStv channel 202). The report also notes that, if Orlando Pirates win the Premiership, it will be their first league title triumph in 14 years, and that Relebohile Mofokeng has six goals and three assists in his last six appearances for the club.
