An Orlando Pirates fan cheers for his team during their MTN8 clash against Cape Town City FC FILE - Orlando Pirates and their fans will make it a mountain to climb for AmaZulu when they take on the Soweto Giants at Orlando Stadium on Friday evening.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
Orlando Pirates will be looking to keep the pressure on Mamelodi Sundowns at the top of the Betway Premiership table, when they face AmaZulu at Orlando Stadium on Friday.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
In the first of the weekend league clashes, Pirates will look to make it five wins in a row to keep up their perfect start to the season.
Both Sundowns and Pirates have 12 points after four matches, with a five-point gap over four teams tied on seven points.
It may be too early to call it a two-horse race for the title, but with Sundowns looking for an eighth league crown in a row and Pirates the runners-up from last season — it appears the two sides may well battle it out once again for top honours.
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— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) October 23, 2024
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🗓️ 22 October 2024
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Over the weekend, Pirates suffered a shock defeat to Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout but redeemed themselves on Tuesday with a workmanlike 2-0 win over SuperSport United in the league.
Despite the win over SuperSport, the defeat still hurt according to Pirates coach Jose Riveiro.
“Everybody is trying his best, trying to contribute to the team and we have to take care of ourselves,” said Riveiro.
“We have to protect each other in the group all the time and I think the results we got [against Magesi] were not good.
“That type of result always provokes some critics and usually the critics are going to the coach and maybe one or two individuals.”
AmaZulu, in contrast to Pirates, have got off to the worst possible start with three defeats in a row from as many matches.
With AmaZulu coach Pablo Martin being shown the door after those three losses, Arthur Zwane has been hired to lead the side alongside Vusimuzi Vilakazi.
Whether the pair of Zwane and Vilakazi will be able to arrest the slide, remains to be seen.