Potential banana skin for Soweto giants

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Before Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates clash on Saturday at FNB Stadium, there is the tiny matter of midweek fixtures.

Another Soweto derby is almost upon us – an afternoon of vuvuzelas, cabbages, loaves of bread, partying and some football.

But wait. Hold those equine beings. Before Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates clash on Saturday at FNB Stadium, there is the tiny matter of midweek fixtures for both.

It is hard to escape the hype around derby week, but the Amakhosi and the Buccaneers will need to make sure they keep their heads while all around are losing theirs, when they take on Chippa United and Bloemfontein Celtic this evening.

This is not an easy task, much like commentators at the moment seem to find it difficult not to sound like they are having an orgasm every time Gareth Bale touches the ball. The derby brings heightened expectations for all, and I am finding it hard to locate a fixture before an Absa Premiership derby where both Chiefs and Pirates have won.

If I were a betting man, and I am not (an occasional poker game, the odd punt on the Grand National, and a small Superbru wager hardly count), I would lay a couple of eggs on one of the two Soweto giants slipping up tonight.

Chiefs certainly have the trickier-looking fixture, having to travel to Cape Town. Pirates have lost twice to Celtic this season, but both times in Bloemfontein, and Clinton Larsen’s men have not exactly excelled on the road.

Either way, there is added spice to all this in that Chiefs and Pirates are, with around a third of the season to go, involved in an intense battle for the league title.

While Platinum Stars could yet throw a spanner in the works, it looks like either Pirates will bring home a third successive league title, or Chiefs will pick up a first championship since 2005.

Both sides are showing signs of nerves. Pirates were dumped out of the Nedbank Cup by Maluti FET, and then slumped to defeat at Moroka Swallows, despite going into a 2-0 lead.

Chiefs, meanwhile, had a chance to put some serious distance between themselves and the Bucs, but were held by Wits at the FNB Stadium on Saturday night.

I am not going to declare this week pivotal, much as I am not going to declare Bale the new Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo/Pele/Diego Maradona.

There will be plenty more twists and turns along the way. But if Chiefs or Pirates can win tonight and then snaffle the derby, the title momentum will be very much theirs.

It is an exciting week for all, in a season that is shaping up nicely as an absolute thriller. - The Star