Pirates stress on star duo’s fitness before Maritzburg match

Orlando Pirates, who are presently atop the DStv Premiership standings, are concerned about the health of two of their best players before to their trip to KwaZulu-Natal to face Maritzburg United.

When the two teams meet at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., the Buccaneers will have to fight with a Team of Choice squad still attempting to launch their new season.

Deon Hotto hobbled off for Pirates in their most recent MTN8 match against Royal AM, joining Thembinkosi Lorch in a race against time to be deemed fit for what is anticipated to be a difficult match against Maritzburg United.

The Sea Robbers, while still very much a work in progress, seem to be gradually gaining momentum, as seen by their recent run of results, which has propelled them to the top of the standings.

For John Maduka’s Team of Choice, it will be a matter of striving to end Pirates’ traditional dominance over this Maritzburg side, and ideally beginning to climb out of the relegation zone as quickly as possible.

The Buccaneers have not lost to Maritzburg in their past 13 meetings, a record they have maintained since the last time they were defeated at the Harry Gwala Stadium in 2016.

At 3pm, the bottom-placed Marumo Gallants will host probable relegation rivals Swallows FC at Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa and its new coach Romain Folz have cause for concern as they are at the bottom of the table despite the closeness of the league standings and point differentials after five games.

After beginning the season with two scoreless draws, Gallants have scored three goals in their past two games, a respectable result for a team projected to be fighting for survival at season’s end.

Their defensive structure has been harmed by Coach Folz’s efforts to play a more open and inventive style of football, an intriguing fact given their next opponent, the Swallows.

Early in the season, the Dube Birds continued to chip away and amass as many points as possible, demonstrating that they seem to have learnt from their errors of the previous year.

They are now ninth on the league standings with seven points and play some of the most attractive football in the league.