Orlando Pirates will aim to make it eight wins in 10 games when they visit Richards Bay in their third PSL game of the season on Sunday.
Pirates are the form team in the PSL as they are still unbeaten after winning seven while drawing two of their nine matches in all competitions which has seen them seal a place in the MTN8 final and CAF Champions League group stages, while staying among the leading pack in the league.
Crucially for the Buccaneers, scoring goals is not a problem, with only one of their nine matches ending 0-0 which should worry Richards Bay, who have only managed one goal in their last three matches.
Pirates come into the match following their 3-0 thrashing of Polokwane City on Tuesday, a game they totally dominated.
Head-to-head
Richards Bay have a decent record against Pirates which suggest it might not be a straightforward win for Jose Riveiro’s men, even if they are heavy favourites to win the match.
In their four meetings against the Natal Rich Boyz, the Buccaneers have only won once, and that is the only time they also managed to score against them.
That was in April 2023 when they won 2-0, the victory coming after a goalless draw in October 2022 and was followed by another 0-0 stalemate last November before Richards Bay pulled off a 1-0 upset in May this year.
Form guide
Pirates will, however, be encouraged by their good start to the 2024-25 PLS season after beginning with a 2-1 win over Chippa United, when they did not play well, before the 3-0 thrashing of Polokwane.
With Monnapule Saleng firing on all cylinders, after three goals in as many games, Evidence Makgopa putting pressure on Tshegofatso Mabasa with his double in midweek, Patrick Maswanganyi running rings behind and Relebohile Mofokeng adding creativity from the wing, Pirates should have enough to triumph.
However, while they have struggled to score goals, just one in three matches, Richards Bay have been hard to beat, having started the season with a 1-0 win over TS Galaxy before losing by the same margin to Chippa United and on Tuesday, they forced a goalless draw with Royal AM.
Brandon Truter’s men are likely to frustrate Pirates with a low block at the King Zwelithini Stadium and Riveiro’s men will have to bring out their ‘A game’ to collect maximum points.
Team news
Saleng was substituted soon after scoring the opener against Polokwane as he went off holding his hamstring but it appears there was no cause for worry as Riveiro did not provide any injury update, meaning Pirates will have all their big hitters around.
Truter’s men also came out unscathed in their stalemate against Royal AM and should have their full complement for the visit of the Soweto giants.
What have they said?
Pirates’ poor record against the KwaZulu-Natal side is still a cause of concern for Riveiro who hopes they can finally correct it.
“If I am not wrong, you can correct me, but I think we played three times against Richards Bay last season. We got eliminated in the Carling Cup, we drew 0-0 in Durban, and we lost again here in Orlando,” Riveiro said after the win over Polokwane.
“So, it goes without saying that it is going to be a very tough game and if we want to collect the maximum [points], then we need to focus only on that one.”
Time & where to watch?
The match is scheduled to kick off at 18:00 at the King Zwelithini Stadium and will be televised on SuperSport PSL (Channel 202), DStv Stream and Showmax Premier League for live streaming
Tickets for the encounter are on sale at TicketPro outlets and are retailing at R100 per ticket.
Predicted lineups
Pirates predicted XI: Chaine, Ndah, Sesane, Van Rooyen, Hotto, Mbatha, Dlamini, Mofokeng, Saleng, Maswanganyi, Mabasa
Richards Bay predicted XI: Otieno, Mabuya, Mabua, Allan, Mcineka, Mhlongo, Conco, Mthethwa, Mbuthuma, Ndelu, Ntusundwana
