DStv Premiership Preview: Cape Town City
1 March, 2022
Orlando Pirates hop off the high of their emphatic weekend victory straight into their next task as they welcome Cape Town City to Orlando Stadium for a DStv Premiership encounter on Wednesday.
Having been on the road for the two cup outings preceding Wednesday’s encounter, the Soweto Giants will relish the opportunity to operate on home soil as they prepare for two demanding fixtures back-to-back at the famous venue.
The midweek fixture is the second of three outings scheduled in the space of a week for the hosts, who have dropped down to fourth in the standings after almost two weeks of no league action.
Form Guide
Fresh off putting six goals past their last opponents, the Soweto Giants will be hoping that their impressive goal-scoring form carries through to the domestic league, following a haul of eight goals in their last two matches in continental cup football.
Pirates’ only defeat since the start of 2022 came on their away trip to Libya, and they have managed three victories, drawing once across competitions during this period.
There has been a mixed bag of results in their last five league assignments which have yielded two victories, as many draws, plus a single defeat.
The Buccaneers are hosting a side that has an identical record to them in their last five outings in the DStv Premiership, the men from the coast will also have their tails up having just completed a league double over Golden Arrows, a team the home side failed to beat in their most recent league fixture.
City’s season so far has been a stop-start affair, boasting some moments of brilliance as well as some shock results, they find themselves in the bottom half of the table with 26 points in 18 games, which sees them in ninth place in the standings.
Key Players
Deon Hotto (Orlando Pirates): The Bucs winger has been involved in a number of crucial moments for the Club throughout the season, and his impact is evident in his stats, with four goals and eight assists in all competitions throughout the campaign. He has had a hand in four of Pirates’ last 10 goals and will look to add to that tally at home against the Capetonians.
Mduduzi Mdantsane (Cape Town City): City have an equally potent threat from the midfield in Mdantsane, who has found the net six times in the league this season. The central midfielder is the Club’s leading goal-scorer, and an ever-present danger both in open play and in dead-ball situations.
Head-to-Head
History between these two sides only stretches back a mere five and a half years, but this fixture has provided enough fireworks to last a lifetime.
The dominant result when Pirates lock horns with City has been a stalemate, with a share of the spoils occurring seven times in league football, while the remaining four games have been shared evenly, with both sides enjoying two wins apiece.
Only the first of the 11 Pirates vs City encounters has ended goalless, and the remaining 10 have produced a total of 29 goals, with the Buccaneers edging the Citizens with 15 to 14.
The previous instalment of this fixture yielded a goal apiece for both sides, with Happy Jele heading in to put the Buccaneers ahead before Mduduzi Mdantsane’s goal from the penalty spot put his side back level.
How to Watch Orlando Pirates vs Cape Town City
SuperSport PSL will broadcast the game live, with kick-off at 17:30, while you can also follow the action by keeping an eye on live updates provided across Orlando Pirates social media profiles.
