Kaizer Chiefs made it clear that they are serious about winning the league this season after beating Chippa United 2-0 on Wednesday at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town. On the same day their arch-rivals Orlando Pirates played a 1-1 draw with Bloemfontein Celtic at Orlando stadium. Chiefs are now sitting on top of the log with 46 points, 5 points ahead of Pirates, who are at the second place with 41 points.
Chiefs and Pirates will face each other in a PSL match on Saturday at the FNB Stadium. As usual, all tickets are sold out and the match is highly anticipated.
With Chiefs having a 5 point lead, it will be clear who is most likely to win the league if Pirates lose. Pirates have to either win or play a draw to stay in the game. Losing the match will give Chiefs an 8 point lead which may annihilate all hopes of winning the league for Pirates. Chiefs is currently in very good form and Pirates seem to be experiencing some problems. Therefore, with 9 games remaining after the derby, an 8 point gap would be very hard to close.
It has been reported that Benni McCarthy has returned to action after being away for nearly three months following a thigh injury. His injury seems to have had a negative impact on Pirate’s performance. Last season the team was not easily beaten in his presence. It is still unknown if he will play on Saturday since he has just returned and may not have reached his peak performance.
If Pirates win, they can still turn things around and go on to win the league. Chiefs have played 21 games so far whereas Pirates have played 20. So, if pirates win their next two matches (the derby and their 22nd game), they will be 1 point ahead of Chiefs when both teams have played 22 games.
From the current log standings, the league is most likely to be won by one of the two Soweto giants. The third team on the log, Platinum Stars, has 38 points and Free State Stars at the 4th position has 32.
