2023/24 DStv Premiership
Matchday 14
8-10 December 2023
Cape Town City will attempt to stay in touch with the
DStv Premiership leaders on matchday 14 as Orlando Pirates look to continue their march up the table.
The action gets underway on Friday evening between two of the league's in-form teams, with Stellenbosch hosting Cape Town City at the Danie Craven Stadium.
The Maroons have recovered from a sticky patch to go unbeaten in their last five games and find themselves just three points adrift of the CAF places in fourth position. The Citizens briefly led the standings after their 1-0 win over Golden Arrows on November 26 which made it six victories on the spin, but they trail Mamelodi Sundowns by five points in second spot following recent back-to-back triumphs for the defending champions.
Suggested photo: Eric Tinkler of Cape Town City
City head coach Eric Tinkler admits results haven't gone their way against Stellies in recent seasons, with their last derby success coming almost exactly three years ago, although he is confident of snapping a five-match winless run.
"We've got the Cape derby against Stellenbosch coming up on Friday. Our record against them hasn't been that brilliant over the past couple of seasons and obviously we're looking to try change that," Tinkler said.
"We're coming off the back of some very, very good wins and good performances... and hopefully we can put on a good performance against them, although we know it's not going to be an easy game, it never is an easy game, especially a derby, but I think we go in there with the confidence and the belief that we can turn them over."
Then on Saturday, Kaizer Chiefs will be looking to build on only their second win under Cavin Johnson when they take on Polokwane City at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Amakhosi edged Moroka Swallows 1-0 in a Soweto derby on November 26, having lost the local bragging rights to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates by the same scoreline a fortnight earlier. The victory over the Dube Birds took them above Rise And Shine (10th) up to eighth place after the Limpopo outfit suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of TS Galaxy, which halted a run of four successive draws.
A few hours later, Golden Arrows will be seeking their first win in four outings when they travel down the east coast to face Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Abafana Bes'thende have slid down the table to fifth position after losing three on the trot to Royal AM (1-0), AmaZulu (3-1) and Cape Town City (1-0), while the Chilli Boys (13th) went down 2-0 to Sekhukhune United on December 6 to leave them without a victory in their last five matches.
In the late kick-off on Saturday, Orlando Pirates will be targeting their fourth win in five games when they welcome TS Galaxy to the Orlando Stadium.
The Buccaneers climbed up to sixth in the standings after beating local rivals Swallows 2-0 on December 5 to extend their unbeaten run to four matches. The Rockets arrested a two-game losing streak with a 3-0 triumph over Polokwane City on November 26 to pull five points clear of the danger zone in 11th spot.
Suggested photo: Jose Riveiro of Orlando Pirates
Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro sees the December period as crucial to their title prospects and wants maximum points from their final four fixtures of 2023, starting with the visit of Galaxy.
"My wish is to get 12 points from the last four games of the year," Riveiro declared. "We want to go game by game because December is going to be key for us if we want to finish the year in a good position to boost our chances of challenging for the title.
"December is a tricky month as we all know but it's an exercise of responsibility from us to do all we can."
The final encounter of the weekend sees Royal AM lock horns with fellow strugglers Richards Bay in a KZN derby at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
Thwihli Thwahla (14th) claimed a welcome 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Cape Town Spurs on November 25 to open up a four-point gap to the Natal Rich Boyz, who boosted their own survival chances by beating the Urban Warriors 1-0 before holding Pirates to a 0-0 draw most recently.
DStv Premiership matchday 14 fixtures:
Friday, December 8
19h30: Stellenbosch v Cape Town City
Saturday, December 9
15h30: Polokwane City v Kaizer Chiefs
17h45: Chippa United v Golden Arrows
20h00: Orlando Pirates v TS Galaxy
Sunday, December 10
15h30: Royal AM v Richards Bay
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