A win for either side will have vastly different implications, as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates gear up for the first of two Soweto Derbies in the space of seven days when the sides meet on Saturday at the FNB Stadium.
Kick-off in the highly anticipated Betway Premiership clash is at 3 p.m.
Though Pirates suffered a heavy blow to their title aspirations in midweek with their shock 1-0 loss to Sekhukhune United, they will still be desperately hoping to keep the pressure on the table-topping Mamelodi Sundowns.
Pirates are now 12 points behind Sundowns, and even though they have two games in hand, it’s difficult to imagine they could reel in the champions with nine fixtures left in their campaign.
Chiefs Aim for Top Eight Finish Amidst Poor League Form
For Chiefs, they will also be desperate, but it will be for a top eight finish. At ninth in the table, Chiefs are facing the real prospect of finishing outside the top eight for the second season in a row.
With Chiefs’ poor run of results in the league (they are without a win in their last six outings), they will be hoping to find a way to arrest the slide.
As bad as their league results have been of late, Chiefs did manage one of the biggest shocks of the season when they beat Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semi-final last month.
That, of course, set up a date with Pirates in the final of the cup competition, which will be exactly one week after this weekend’s clash.
Though either side could be forgiven for having one eye on the cup final, it’s actually difficult to say which team will want a win more in this crunch derby clash.
@Michael_Sherman
IOL Sport
