Brazilians, Amakhosi set for heavyweight bout

Andile Jali of Mamelodi Sundowns challenged by Lebogang Manyama of Kaizer Chiefs

Friday Apr 23, 2021. 09:00

A heavyweight bout between league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns and Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday 25 April will headline a weekend round of action in South Africa’s DStv Premiership.

While the teams were neck and neck through most of last season, with ‘Downs sneaking the title on the final day, this time around the Tshwane club has been the dominant force, opening up a strong lead at the top of the log at the same time that the Amakhosi have stumbled.

Chiefs had shown some signs of improvement both domestically and in the CAF Champions League in recent weeks, but a 2-1 loss at home to Cape Town City in midweek suggests that they will need to up their game massively to avenge a 3-0 defeat from the teams’ last league meeting back in October 2020.

The weekend opens with Maritzburg United looking to bounce back to winning form and continue their battle against relegation when they host Baroka FC on Friday, while the pick of Saturday’s games is the ‘original’ Soweto derby between Swallows FC and Orlando Pirates at Dobsonville Stadium.

The Buccaneers will be aiming to build on their win over Maritzburg last weekend: “The result was important for us after the Sundowns game [4-1 loss in the Nedbank Cup]. We know we have a lot of tired players. We are happy about the result and we are looking forward to our next game,” said coach Josef Zinnbauer.

The round also sees AmaZulu hosting TS Galaxy, Bloemfontein Celtic visiting Stellenbosch, Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila looking to boost their survival hopes with a trip to Cape Town City, and Chippa United aiming for a home win when they welcome Golden Arrows to the Eastern Cape.

DStv Premiership fixtures, 23-25 April

Friday 23 April

17:00: Maritzburg United v Baroka FC

Saturday 24 April

15:00: Stellenbosch FC v Bloemfontein Celtic

15:00: Black Leopards v SuperSport United

17:00: Swallows FC v Orlando Pirates

17:00: AmaZulu v TS Galaxy

17:00: Cape Town City v Tshakhuma TM

Sunday 25 April

15:00: Mamelodi Sundowns v Kaizer Chiefs

15:00: Chippa United v Golden Arrows