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2019-20 Absa Premiership
Selected fixtures
21-25 August 2020
With Kaizer Chiefs looking on course to end atop the Absa Premiership, the relegation scrap at the other end of the table will take centre stage this weekend and early next week, as 11 matches are played from Friday 21 to Tuesday 25 August 2020.
Friday afternoon sees back-to-back crunch matches for the ‘basement dwellers’, as bottom-of-the-log Black Leopards play Golden Arrows at Ellis Park, before AmaZulu face a stuttering Bidvest Wits at FNB Stadium.
Lidoda Duvha were victorious upon their return to football this past weekend, defeating Maritzburg United 3-2, while Usuthu were held 0-0 in a relegation six-pointer against Baroka FC. AmaZulu coach Ayanda Dlamini insists that fighting against the dreaded drop is not intimidating for him or the team.
“Every point is a point that helps us at the end of the season. We’re in a position where every point counts towards our survival. We know relegation is not an easy battle to fight but unfortunately it’s where we find ourselves,” said Dlamini.
“There are other teams around us at the foot of the table and we need to better their results if we are to stay in the division. We take it game by game and try for the best result possible, our future is in our own hands now. There’s 15 points for us to play for, so we have to push for maximum return.”
The busy schedule of games also sees Maritzburg United look to hand Mamelodi Sundowns another disappointing result on Friday, as the latter’s reign as champions slowly comes to an end, while Saturday features two more key games at the bottom, with the Limpopo pair of strugglers, Baroka and Polokwane City, at home to Chippa United and Highlands Park respectively.
Cape Town City have looked one of the most explosive teams since the Absa Premiership’s restart and they will look to claim the scalp of Orlando Pirates when the teams meet in the pick of matches on Sunday, while Monday is headlined by Sundowns hosting Golden Arrows at Dobsonville Stadium.
Tuesday wraps up a busy spell in the league with Leopards at home to SuperSport United at FNB Stadium. Leopards caretaker Morgan Shivambu has admitted that his future as a coach is very much riding on how the team perform under the threat of relegation in their remaining matches.
“Ja, this goes in two ways,” explained Shivambu. “It can break or make my name because if things go well everyone in the team will be saying, 'Yeah these guys kept the team in the PSL.' If it goes down they will say, 'These are the guys who got the team relegated.’”
Absa Premiership fixtures, 21-25 August 2020
Friday 21 August
13:30: Golden Arrows v Black Leopards
15:30: Bidvest Wits v AmaZulu
18:00: Maritzburg United v Mamelodi Sundowns
Saturday 22 August
15:30: Polokwane City v Highlands Park
18:00: Baroka FC v Chippa United
Sunday 23 August
15:30: Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates
18:00: Kaizer Chiefs v Stellenbosch
Monday 24 August
15:30: Maritzburg United v Bidvest Wits
15:30: AmaZulu v Bloemfontein Celtic
18:00: Mamelodi Sundowns v Golden Arrows
Tuesday 25 August
18:00: Black Leopards v SuperSport United
Selected head-to-head (league only)
Maritzburg United v Mamelodi Sundowns
Matches played 27
United wins 3
Sundowns wins 18
Draws 6
Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates
Matches played 7
City wins 1
Pirates wins 1
Draws 5
Black Leopards v SuperSport United
Matches played 17
Leopards wins 4
SuperSport wins 8
Draws 5
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