Five things to look out for in the DStv Premiership this weekend

Can AmaZulu improve on last season?

Mamelodi Sundowns v AmaZulu (Friday, kick off 5pm)

Benni McCarthy’s AmaZulu did incredibly well to finish as DStv Premiership runners-up last season, at one stage even topping the table on the back of an astonishing winning streak, though Sundowns’ games in hand always made them more likely champions. The question now is whether Usuthu can go one better this season, and take the title off Masandawana. Sundowns will be in the hunt again this season, it is impossible to say otherwise about a team that has now won four Premiership titles on the spin. But AmaZulu can lay down a marker on Friday if they can stun the Tshwane giants in their own backyard.

Who is the main man now at Orlando Pirates?

Orlando Pirates v Stellenbosch FC (Saturday, 3pm)

Josef Zinnbauer’s exit from Orlando Pirates this week wasn’t exactly a surprise, given that JZ has been rumoured to be on his way out at the Buccaneers for some time. Pirates’ defeat to Swallows in the MTN8 appears to have been the final straw, and the question going forward is who will lead the side in the 2021/22 campaign. Buccaneers chairman Irvin Khoza could yet bring in another head coach, but at the moment he has two DStv Premiership head coaches on the touchline, in the form of assistant coaches Fadlu Davids and Mandla Ncikazi. It will be interesting, and perhaps indicative, to see who is shouting the instructions on Saturday, when Pirates take on Stellenbosch in their DStv Premiership opener.

Limpopo derby opener for Marumo Gallants

Baroka FC v Marumo Gallants (Saturday, 5pm)

Marumo Gallants play their first match ever in the DStv Premiership, when they take on Baroka FC in a Limpopo derby at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday. Well, it is sort of their first match, given that Abram Sello bought the status of Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in the middle of last season, and the only real difference in the new campaign is the name change. This is a team that flirted with relegation last season, but that also won the Nedbank Cup, and will take part in the Caf Confederation Cup this season. Baroka have some continuity of their own in the sense that Matsemela Thoka remains in charge for the new season, though they only finished three points above TTM last season.

Chiefs have a chance to lay down a marker at TS Galaxy

TS Galaxy v Kaizer Chiefs (Sunday, 5pm)

Kaizer Chiefs beat AmaZulu 6-0 in Stuart Baxter’s first league game in charge in his first spell at the club, in August 2012, which happened to follow on from a loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 quarterfinals. Amakhosi lost again to Sundowns in the same tournament last weekend, at the start of Baxter’s second spell in charge, and if a thrashing like that in his first league game is unlikely to repeat itself, any sort of win would be a fine beginning for an Amakhosi side looking to challenge again for the league title. Chiefs did beat TS Galaxy 1-0, in their last league match, a victory that sealed their place in the top eight, and another scrappy three points would do them just fine on Sunday.

Royal AM are here, but there’s not much to cheer

Swallows FC v Royal AM (Sunday, 3pm)

Royal AM will play their first ever DStv Premiership match on Sunday, having bought their way into the top flight, purchasing the status of Bloemfontein Celtic. There is little to warm the heart in a system that allows sides to simply purchase club statuses, especially a division above them. All of it makes a mockery of any promotion structures in place from the GladAfrica Championship, though those were also a shambles last season, with Royal AM taking the league to court and refusing to play in the play-offs, after being denied automatic promotion. Swallows also went bankrupt at one point, and bought an ABC Motsepe League status, and then a GladAfrica Championship status, though they did at least win automatic promotion in 2020.