Tough tasks for Soweto giants
Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates go into action for the fourth time in 10 days this week and both will have to be sharp to come away with three points.
With Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates due to participate in African club competition later in the season, both teams have matches this midweek in anticipation of the fixture congestion later in the season and for each it will be a fourth game in a matter of 10 days since the start of the new campaign.
They are taxing assignments and add more pressure at this early stage of the campaign, just when both Soweto giants are looking to find some momentum and hoping to show their titlechasing credentials.
Chiefs will be up against Baroka FC in Polokwane tonight, while Pirates are home to Bidvest Wits in a difficult fixture tomorrow evening.
They are the only two midweek games on the Premier Soccer League programme.
It will be particularly hard for Pirates. They had two hours of football plus a nerve-jangling penalty shootout on Saturday night, when they lost to SuperSport United in the MTN8 quarter-final, while Wits will have had more than week’s rest since their last outing.
On top of that, Wits have looked a resurgent force since the opening weekend. After bringing in a raft of new players in the off-season, they already have two good victories already under their belt, including beating Chiefs at Soccer City.
For TAB soccer pools Wits look a strong bet for an away triumph, although some Soccer 6 and 10 punters will point out that Pirates did rest some key players for last Saturday’s cup tie in anticipation of the clash against Wits.
But they will still have some tired bodies going into this tussle and be devoid of confidence, having drawn their previous two home matches.
For any side the trip to Polokwane is always tough and Baroka have a proud history of upending Chiefs. There was a first victory at the weekend for new coach Giovanni Solinas, but still not enough signs that Chiefs are going to have the ability to mount a decent challenge for the 2018-19 title.
For TAB soccer pools players, it is a chance to bet on underdogs Polokwane with some conviction.