Pirates look to take advantage of Sundowns stumble in title race

“If you see the Premier League in England, Manchester City, Arsenal, they’re fighting. I think it’s the same fight that we see in the PSL,” said Ouaddou.

There are only a few games to play in the Betway Premiership and no doubt there will be more twists and turns at this exciting stage of the season.

Kaizer Chiefs held log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, and the stalemate indirectly swung the advantage to rivals Orlando Pirates in the title race.

Sundowns remain top of the standings with 65 points, just three ahead of Pirates, who have a game in hand. Should Pirates win that match against Magesi at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday (kick-off is at 8pm), they could move to the summit due to a superior goal difference, provided that Sundowns lose their game against Siwelele, which will be played just before the Pirates game.

Similarities between PSL and EPL title races

Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has compared this season’s title race between his side and Sundowns to the intense rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester City in the English Premier League.

“If you see the Premier League in England, Manchester City, Arsenal, they’re fighting. I think it’s the same fight that we see in the PSL. It creates a lot of interest for the fans. It’s no fun when a team takes the title 10 games before the end of the season, because if you already know at the beginning of the season who is going to be champions, you lose interest,” said Ouaddou.

“So, this season we’ve tried to bring more competitiveness. I think the boys really did well. Let’s see what the result will be at the end of this season. But the most important thing is to be competitive until the end.

“So for us, the dream is still here. The players are going to fight, and it’s possible, like I said at the beginning of the season, to fight until the last game and maybe the people will know the champion only after the last game,” he added.

Ouaddou calls for Chaine’s Bafana recall

Meanwhile, Ouaddou has called on Hugo Broos to include goalkeeper Sipho Chaine in his final Bafana Bafana squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup.

Chaine has been in fine form for Pirates this season and he equalled Ronwen Williams’ PSL record of 18 clean sheets in a single season after the 2-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC on Tuesday evening.

Yet, despite his heroics between the sticks, Chaine was not called up for the recent international friendlies against Panama in Durban and Cape Town.

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“I hope that Hugo Broos, coach of the national team, will see his performance, and I really hope he will be part of the national team in the USA. He deserves it, and he’s working hard for that,” commented Ouaddou.