Pirates and Sundowns set for another thriller?

Clashes between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns have fast become the main highlight on the South African football calendar, with the Soweto derby too often failing to live up to the hype.

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If you want thrills and spills, the Buccaneers against Masandawa is the one to watch and it is likely their DStv Premiership meeting at the Orlando Stadium won’t be any different on Sunday.

Out of their last 10 meetings in all competitions, only two matches have ended goalless.

There has been a total of 23 goals scored between the two teams, and Sundowns have the upper hand, having scored 17 of those goals while Pirates have found the back of the net six times.

The Pretoria outfit also have the bragging rights of winning the most games, with five victories, whereas Pirates have only registered two and three of their ties ended in draws.

According to the stats, the Brazilians are favourites to win the match, and also hammered Pirates 4-1 in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals just a few weeks ago, but as their co-coach Steve Komphela has once said “stats are like bikinis, they don’t reveal much.”

Looking at this game, there is so much at stake for both these teams. Sundowns are on a quest to extend their lead at the top of the table as the season curtain comes closer.

Downs are at the summit of the league standings with 48 points after 23 games.

The Pretoria based team are only one point ahead of second placed AmaZulu FC and four points behind third placed Golden Arrows – who face off on Saturday – but Downs have two games in hand.

Meanwhile, Bucs are in fourth spot on the log with 39 points after 23 matches. For Pirates, going into this game will be about closing the gap with the teams at the top of the table and increasing their chances of winning the title.

Last 10 results between Pirates and Sundowns:

15/04/2021

Mamelodi Sundowns 4, Orlando Pirates 1

02/01)2021

Mamelodi Sundowns 1, Orlando Pirates 0

11/08/2020

Mamelodi Sundowns 0, Orlando Pirates 0

15/01/2020

Orlando Pirates 1, Mamelodi Sundowns

01/04/2019

Orlando Pirates 0, Mamelodi Sundowns 0

10/11/2018

Mamelodi Sundowns 0, Orlando Pirates 0

13/01/2018

Mamelodi Sundowns 1, Orlando Pirates 3

01/11/2017

Orlando Pirates 1, Mamelodi Sundowns 3

07/05/2017

Orlando Pirates 0, Mamelodi Sundowns 2

11/02/2017

Mamelodi Sundowns 6, Orlando Pirates 0