Nick Said, Special to ESPN 6y

Pirates can pile pressure on Sundowns with victory at Golden Arrows

Orlando Pirates will have the opportunity to close the gap on Absa Premiership leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to a single point when they travel to Lamontville Golden Arrows on Saturday night.

Sundowns are in action in the CAF Champions League, giving Pirates the chance to pile on the pressure as The Brazilians enter a hectic period in April and May, as they compete on three fronts.

Pirates' defeat in the Nedbank Cup in midweek means they will now focus solely on the league, starting with Sunday's trip to Durban, a traditional happy hunting ground for The Buccaneers.

The club's Serbian coach, Micho Sredojevic, refuses to admit his side is in with a shot at the title this season, but clearly they are the main rival to Sundowns.

"I will not draw myself into that side‚" he told reporters this week.

"In the league we are where we are at present."

He says the team must put behind them a 1-0 loss to Cape Town City in the Nedbank Cup and sharpen their focus for the remaining league games.

"When the team loses it's a mental setback," he said. "Now‚ instead of thinking about the times ahead we need total concentration and commitment‚ and all the hard work to show what material we will build from in Saturday's game against Arrows."

Pirates have enjoyed near total domination over Golden Arrows in the recent past - the last 20 matches between the sides have resulted in 17 wins for the Soweto club and just two defeats.

The reverse fixture this season did end in a 0-0 draw, though Pirates have managed to find their scoring touch since the early part of the campaign.

Kaizer Chiefs also face Durban opposition on Saturday when they entertain AmaZulu, looking to put behind them the 3-1 loss to Pirates in the Soweto Derby earlier in the month.

They have since gone on to advance to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup, though they were less than convincing in a 2-1 success against second-tier Stellenbosch United, and as they trail Sundowns by eight points, it is do-or-die for the side.

"We cannot afford to drop any points at this pivotal stage of the season. We'll push hard to shut the back door and ensure goals are scored at our opponents' end of the pitch," Chiefs striker Ryan Moon told his club's website.

"We've put the Soweto derby setback behind us and the lads are ready and raring to face AmaZulu.

"We have been monitoring AmaZulu, just like we do with all our opponents, and we are confident we have what it takes to prevail."

In the afternoon kick-off on Saturday, third-place Free State Stars also have the chance to close the gap on Sundowns to three points when they travel to Mdantsane to meet Chippa United.

It is the second successive weekend that the team clash, with Stars having run out 2-1 winners in the Nedbank Cup tie played in Bethlehem.

Attention will turn to the bottom of the league on Sunday when Bloemfontein Celtic host basement boys Platinum Stars.

Stars are seven points adrift at the foot of the table, though with a game in hand, and another defeat would take them a step closer to relegation.  

^ Back to Top ^