Hendrik Ekstein of AmaZulu ccelebrates goal with teammates during the Betway Premiership 2024/25 match between AmaZulu and Royal AM at Studio in Durban on 13 December 2024 © Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Friday Jan 03, 2025. 11:00
A truncated weekend of Betway Premiership action will be headlined by AmaZulu FC v Golden Arrows and Polokwane City v Sekhukhune United in Durban and Polokwane derbies respectively, as well as a potential thriller between Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs.
The first of five league matches this weekend, Usuthu and Abafana Bes’thende will renew their rivalry at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the former team looking to continue a resurgence which has seen them win four of their last six matches – most recently defeating Cape Town City 1-0 away from home.
As for the latter, they have parted ways with coach Mabhuti Khenyeza and failed to win their last two matches, succumbing 1-0 at home to Richards Bay before a stalemate when hosting Polokwane City last weekend.
At the same time that AmaZulu and Arrows meet in Durban, TS Galaxy (unbeaten in six league matches) and Magesi FC (winless since lifting the Carling Knockout in November) will have their first Premiership meeting at the Mbombela Stadium, while the evening match on Saturday sees Marumo Gallants welcome Richards Bay to the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein for a relegation six-pointer.
Gallants are in a tailspin after suffering three straight losses – one of which was a 1-8 humbling at the hands of Orlando Pirates on Christmas Eve – while Bay have recorded an ‘L’ in five of their last six league matches.
Bahlabane Ba Ntwa have reinstated firebrand coach Dan Malesela after his recent ‘special leave’, as they seek to claw their way up the standings.
Sunday opens with a derby between in-form teams Polokwane City (unbeaten in four matches) and Sekhukhune United (chasing a hat-trick of wins) at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, before Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs close out the weekend’s action with a clash at the Cape Town Stadium.
The Citizens have struggled for consistency throughout this season and come into the game having lost three of their last four league matches – which brought the end of coach Eric Tinkler’s tenure – while the Amakhosi beat Chippa United last weekend for just a second win in their last eight outings across all competitions.
Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi will need to build momentum from their victory against the Chilli Boys, lest he find himself in danger of suffering the same fate as Tinkler.
“At the beginning of the league, the quality was better than the last three games but there’s an explanation for that when you play young players, the inconsistency is normal,” said Nabi.
“The second thing is we have been having a lot of injuries that have been affecting our performances on the field as well as our results which has brought on so much pressure on the players, coaches and the club and sometimes you can see it because they play with the handbrake up, with the fear to not lose rather than playing to win games.”
The truncated round this weekend is due to Stellenbosch FC, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns being involved in CAF Interclub Competitions matches.
Betway Premiership weekend fixtures
Times CAT
Saturday 4 January
15:30: AmaZulu FC v Golden Arrows
15:30: TS Galaxy v Magesi FC
20:00: Marumo Gallants v Richards Bay
Sunday 5 January
15:30: Polokwane City v Sekhukhune United
17:45: Cape Town City v Kaizer Chiefs
