Soweto derby: All roads lead to FNB Stadium

The country’s focus falls on FNB Stadium this long weekend as Orlando Pirates host Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs in a high-stakes Betway Premiership showdown on Sunday afternoon.

It’s all to play for in this instalment of the Soweto derby with the two titans colliding as the league season edges towards an exciting finish.

They clash just as the Buccaneers look to tighten their grip on top spot with victory against a resurgent Amakhosi outfit that has clawed its way back to the top three.

This makes the three points that are up for grabs as important as they have ever been for both sides in a fixture where both sides have rarely needed extra motivation to succeed.

Mathematical shot at the title

With only half a dozen fixtures remaining in the season, Kaizer Chiefs are well-placed for a return to continental football while also still within a mathematical shot at the title.

The lead-up to the Soweto derby has featured their best run of results in the ongoing campaign, with their most recent defeat dating back to early March.

Having collected five consecutive wins since the last international break, Amakhosi had a rare slip-up in their last outing when they played to a goalless stalemate away to Polokwane City.

The point earned on their visit to Rise and Shine was their 46th so far in a season where they have picked up 13 wins and seven stalemates, while proving difficult to beat throughout with only four defeats recorded.

Despite facing the Buccaneers against what is an all-too-familiar backdrop, Sunday’s return to FNB Stadium marks a third consecutive away outing for the Glamour Boys.

They have fared rather well on the road, emerging on the winning side six times in 10 fixtures while only losing once, with three of their 21 away points collected courtesy of stalemates.

It’s form they will look to carry into the clash against their biggest rivals, which they might have to navigate without Rushwin Dortley and Etiosa Ighodaro – both out with long-term injuries – while ex-Bucs midfielder Siphesihle Ndlovu could be back in contention for a spot in the match day squad after sitting out the trip to Polokwane.

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Orlando Pirates meanwhile head to the Soweto derby pursuing more than just bragging rights, but a win that guarantees them a spot at the summit for another week at a crucial stage of the campaign.

They remain locked in a potential photo finish with defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, and have a one-point lead at the top with only half a dozen fixtures remaining.

Games involving the Buccaneers have not been short of fireworks in recent weeks and they have claimed at least a point in each of their last eight league outings, including last Saturday’s 3-0 routing of the visiting AmaZulu at Orlando Amstel Arena.

The result against Usuthu was a welcome return to winning ways following a disappointing stalemate away to Richards Bay – one of only two slip-ups since the previous derby.

In what is their penultimate home fixture in the ongoing campaign, Abdeslam Ouaddou’s troops face their biggest foes in a bid to strengthen an already solid home record after hitting double figures under the wins column while only dropping eight out of an available 39 points.

The fixture poses a significant hurdle, but one Orlando Pirates could be equipped to scale with no new names added to the injury list, while the likes of Thalente Mbatha, Andre de Jong and Evidence Makgopa could be back in action after missing out on the clash against AmaZulu.

Head-to-Head

While there has been very little to choose between the rivals in the last 10 Betway Premiership derbies, recent momentum has firmly been with Orlando Pirates who added a convincing 3-0 win in their away derby earlier in the season.

That victory was their fifth in a row and their biggest winning margin in the fixture since they defeated Kaizer Chiefs with an identical scoreline halfway through the 2001/02 season.

The Buccaneers’ current run of victories follows a similar dominant spell from Amakhosi, who notched up five consecutive wins of their own when they dominated the fixture between the latter half of the 2020/21 and the 2022/23 campaign.

Things remain pretty tight over a longer sequence of fixtures with Orlando Pirates boasting 15 wins and 51 goals in the last 50 instalments of the Soweto derby, while Kaizer Chiefs remain slightly ahead under the wins column with 17 victories and a goal tally of 50 during this period.