LIVE | Orlando Pirates vs Polokwane City

League action beckons for Orlando Pirates, who are back in familiar territory for their next fixture.

They host domestic rivals Polokwane City in the Betway Premiership with the match taking place at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night.

Kick-off is at 19:30.

It’s a welcome return to home comforts for the Buccaneers as they look to cover some ground in their bid to climb further up in the standings.

They’re up against a tricky opponent in Rise and Shine, who have taken residence in the top half of the table early on in yet another season.

An electrifying atmosphere has been the staple at Orlando Stadium throughout the season, and the same can be anticipated as two in-form teams chase maximum points as league football returns to the iconic venue.

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Betway Premiership log ahead of Wednesday’s matches

Goal difference

A break of nearly three weeks ends with a demanding fixture for Polokwane, who resume competitive action with a trip to Soweto.

They do so with only league football to look forward to in the next few months, having exited the Carling Knockout in the first round following a penalty shootout defeat away to Durban City in the most recent outing.

Currently sixth in the Betway Premiership standings, only goal difference separates them from their next opponents after picking up four wins and three draws to tally up 15 points in nine matches.

Two thirds of this tally comes from their last five outings, where they won three, drawn once and suffered a single defeat.

Despite their decent returns early on in the season, away form has been a bit of a concern for Phuti Mohafe’s charges, who have averaged one point a match in their four assignments on the road.

Their only away win was a 1-0 victory against a struggling Siwelele on the third game week, and they have only scored one other goal as visitors while conceding three times.

They have had ample time to plot a turn around, recently bolstered by the return of fullback Thabang Matuludi from international duty in the days leading up to Wednesday night’s fixture, while the likes of striker Hlayisi Chauke and Lerato Ntamane are yet to feature since the start of the campaign.

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For Orlando Pirates, the fixture comes days after a challenging trip of their own.

They travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend, where they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Saint-Éloi Lupopo in the second preliminary round first-leg tie in the CAF Champions League.

It was a rare loss and a result that ended a lengthy unbeaten run that had stretched to 11 matches, consisting of eight consecutive victories.

Despite their recent slip-up, the Buccaneers still have another impressive streak to maintain having won each of their last five league matches to take up a spot in the top three of the Betway Premiership standings.

They defeated TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium in their last league outing, maintaining a solid run in front of the Bucs faithful who have not witnessed a defeat since the opening day of the league campaign.

With games in hand, Orlando Pirates could strengthen their position in third place with another win that could see them pull away from the rest of the five teams currently tied on 15 points.

They could still be without attacking midfielder Relebohile Mofokeng, who sat out the trip to West Africa, along with the likes of Deano van Rooyen and Tapelo Xoki who have both been on the sidelines over the past few weeks.

Head-to-Head

Orlando Pirates will be welcoming Polokwane to Orlando Stadium for the second time this season, having kicked off their MTN 8 title defence with a comfortable 2-0 win when the two sides met there in August.

It was the continuation of the Buccaneers’ solid record against Rise and Shine, stretching their current winning streak to four victories in all competitions with seven goals scored and none conceded during this period.

Since returning to the top flight in the 2023/24 season, the men from Limpopo have only breached the Bucs defence once, doing so in a 1-1 draw played in Soweto during the first half of the 2023/24 season.

Against Wednesday night’s visitors, the Soweto giants have maintained one of their longest league unbeaten streaks in the league after avoiding defeat for over a decade in the fixture.

They have emerged on the winning side nine times since suffering a rare loss in February 2014, with the two sides sharing the spoils on seven occasions.