With the Fifa international break and MTN8 weekend out the way, it is back to league action. Football fans could not have asked for a better resumption because the top four teams are set to line up on Tuesday night.
Richards Bay will host leaders Mamelodi Sundowns; defending champions Orlando Pirates will entertain TS Galaxy at the Arena; Durban City and AmaZulu in the KZN derby; and Stellenbosch FC will be visiting Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium. All matches will get underway at 7.30pm.
Chiefs are one of three teams,alongside Sundowns and Pirates, who are unbeaten so far this season, with 13 points from seven matches. They sit in fourth position on the log.
Stellenbosch will surely be on a serious mission to hand them their first loss and coach Gavin Hunt will fight tooth and nail to beat his former employers, especially given how he parted ways with the Soweto giants.
Hunt will also have a lot of ammunition in his arsenal and moral support from his new players this season, who once wore the Amakhosi jersey and maybe have a point to prove.
Players like Given Msimango, George Matlou, Njabulo Blom and Darrel Matsheke have joined Hunt at Stellies and could all feature on Tuesday against their former club.
Stellies and Amakhosi have been blowing hot and cold, with consistency being something both teams will be looking to build and improve on, especially with the amount of time during the unprecedented two-week-Fifa break.
For Chiefs, their biggest challenge has been conceding cheap goals, squandering opportunities and not being able to capitalise on most matches they had dominated.
“We have a lack of maturity in the frontline,” Fernando da Cruz said after their frustrating goalless draw against Golden Arrows.
“We have young players with a lot of qualities but they lack maturity. But we are on the right track; we need to continue this way and we will win games and score goals, for sure, 100%.”
Coach da Cruz will probably be without one of his youngsters and exciting prospects, Luke Baartman, who picked up an injury while on national duty with the SA U23s.
- The top four teams will play on Tuesday night with Richards Bay hosting Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates hosting TS Galaxy, Durban City facing AmaZulu, and Stellenbosch FC visiting Kaizer Chiefs.
- Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Orlando Pirates are unbeaten this season, with Chiefs sitting fourth with 13 points from seven matches.
- Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt will face his former club Kaizer Chiefs, with several players who once played for Chiefs now at Stellenbosch.
- Chiefs have struggled with conceding cheap goals and failing to capitalize on dominant matches, with coach Fernando da Cruz citing a lack of maturity in the frontline.
- Luke Baartman, a promising young Chiefs player, is likely to miss the match due to an injury sustained on national duty with the SA U23s.
