Soweto v Tshwane clashes take centre stage

Two clashes pitting heavyweights from Soweto against their counterparts from Tshwane on Wednesday will headline the midweek DStv Premiership action. Catch the action live on SuperSport.

In the first such fixture, Orlando Pirates will welcome Mamelodi Sundowns to the Orlando Stadium, with both teams fresh from action in the CAF Champions League this past weekend. While the Brazilians trumped Burundi’s Bumamuru 4-0 away from home, the Buccaneers suffered a 1-0 reverse in Botswana against Jwaneng Galaxy.

“We have got a way of playing now that we want to play a certain way, adopt certain things and change certain things in relation to the opposition, but there’s nothing special about us. We just happen to work very, very hard and have very, very good football players in our team,” said Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena, with his team chasing a seventh successive league win since the start of the season.

The second Tshwane v Soweto battle pits SuperSport United against Kaizer Chiefs at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Matsatsantsa were held 1-1 in Botswana in their CAF Confederation Cup qualifier against Gaborone United, while the Amakhosi missed out on a hat-trick of league wins when they could only draw 0-0 against Royal AM.

“I think [Jasond Gonzalez and George Matlou] did well," Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki said after the weekend’s result, referring to the team’s misfiring forwards.

"It is just a matter of time for them to understand and have a clear tactical cohesion, in terms of the runs they make and when they make those runs, how do we connect with them?”

The round gets underway on Tuesday evening with a trio of matches across the country, as Stellenbosch FC look to end their winless run with a clash at home to Moroka