Johannesburg - African competition-chasing Orlando Pirates will travel to the Nelson Mandela Stadium for a tough battle against Chippa United on Saturday at 5:30pm.
This clash between The Buccaneers and Chilli Boys promises to be an exciting one as both teams have something to prove.
Pirates currently lead the charge for the next available CAF champions league spot (with Mamelodi Sundowns having already secured the first ticket) and will want to keep looking the part while Chippa are once again are called on to prove their top-flight credentials.
The Sea Robbers are in fine form coming into the encounter and having won four of their last five outings in all competitions, a run that has seen them leapfrog both Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United into second spot while booking their spot in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup.
Jose Riveiro has been impressed with his side’s recent run and will be looking to keep their hopes alive of a top-two finish.
A main contributor in Pirates’ recent purple patch has been their ability to find the back of the net more consistently, a huge contrast to a team that endured criticism in their inability to create chances in the first round of the campaign.
Pirates have only failed to score in two of their last 10 matches, incidentally, it was the only two defeats they tasted as well (against Chiefs and Sundowns), scoring an impressive 19 goals in that same period.
Chippa, on the other hand, are involved in a relegation battle for the seventh season in a row and desperately need a win to boost their chances of avoiding a drop to the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
The Chilli Boys currently languish in a precarious 14th place and are just two points above the drop zone.
The club’s ‘trigger-happy’ owner has recalled former player Kurt Lenjties to try and salvage the club’s ambitions with the run-in set to be arguably the most competitive throughout the division.
Although Chippa have not been Pirates since 2016, the hosts will draw confidence from their last two league matches, where they were able to avoid defeat against teams that held top six spots at the time in Sekhukhune United and Matsatsantsa most recently.
The 30-point mark has frequently been the benchmark to avoid relegation from the top-flight, however, the 2022/2023 campaign suggests a move away from that notion as bottom placed Marumo Gallants could still eclipse that figure.
It will be interesting to see Chippa’s response to Pirates’ known possession-based approach in this encounter as both outfits try to snatch any available point to further their ambitions.
@ScribeSmiso
IOL Sport