Three things to look out for in SA football this weekend

Pirates need to transfer knockout form to the DStv Premiership

Orlando Pirates have been on an absolute tear in the cup competitions under Jose Riveiro, sweeping up every domestic knockout trophy available since the Spaniard took over at the start of the 2022/23 season. The questions remains, however whether the Buccaneers can make it for the long haul, in the form of providing any sort other challenge to Mamelodi Sundowns for the DStv Premiership title.

It’s just not happening at all for Riveiro’s men six games in, with Pirates on just eight points, and nowhere near the runaway leaders. Put simply, they need to start winning, and winning, and winning again in the league, and to do that, to state the blindingly obvious, they need goals. Pirates’ well has run worryingly dry of late, drawing five blanks in their last seven games in all competitions.

This has coincided with a dip in form for Zakhele Lepasa, with Pirates showing little evidence they have a reliable alternative source of goals to the striker. Pirates face Polokwane City on Friday, and their front men need to start showing up, or their title challenge will end barely before it has begun.

Can Cavin Johnson raise Chiefs from their slumbers?

Kaizer Chiefs travel to Hammarsdale to take on Golden Arrows in the DStv Premiership, with Mabhudi Khenyeza’s side looking like a force in South African football and Chiefs looking like ship lost at sea. Amakhosi sacked Molefi Ntseki this week, with a more pertinent question perhaps why they appointed him at all. Now Cavin Johnson has been given the reins, on an interim basis, and he has the job of getting results for a squad packed with talent, but up to now, not much purpose.

Mamelodi Sundowns are the only team to have beaten Arrows in the league this season, with the KZN side on a run of five wins in their last six games in all competitions. Only Sundowns have scored more than Arrows in the league this season, and this is after arguably Arrows’ best player, Pule Mmodi, joined Chiefs this season. A former Chief, striker Ryan Moon, has been in good form, but Arrows have spread the goals around nicely.

Chiefs, on the other, hand, have fired too many blanks, with just eight league goals in nine matches. This is where Johnson may want to start working if he is to get Amakhosi back on track.

Sundowns lock horns with Al Ahly again

The Caf African Football League is a new concept in an attempt to bring extra revenue into the continental game, but a meeting of Sundowns and Al Ahly is, realistically, more of the same. Sundowns have met the Cairo giants twice already in each of the last five years, with the pair constantly coming up against each other in the Caf Champions League.

This fierce rivalry gets its third dose of 2023 on Sunday when the two sides meet in the first leg of their AFL semifinal on Sunday, with a fourth game to follow in the second leg in Cairo on Wednesday. The two games earlier this year were high-scoring affairs, in the Champions League group stages, with Sundowns drawing 2-2 in Cairo and then hammering Ahly 5-2 at home, Percy Tau netting a wonderful consolation goal for the Egyptian side.

It was Ahly who had the last laugh, however, as they won the Champions League, while Sundowns were knocked out in the semifinals by Wydad Casablanca. Sundowns will no doubt relish the chance to have another go at Ahly, in a competition that offers up a whopping US$ 4 million to the winner. If they can triumph it could also set a marker down ahead of the Champions League group stages next year.