What to know ahead of the Soweto Derby!

The City of Johannesburg will come to a center stage once again on Saturday 3 March when the FNB Stadium hosts the Soweto Derby.

Image by Kaizer Chiefs media.

Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs will lock horns in match 23 of their PSL campaign for this season. Here is what you should know:

Ticket sales

Although there were reports of fans who complained about the exorbitant ticket prices for this match, their sales are going really fast. As of Thursday, 1 March and one day before the big spectacle, Orlando Pirates has confirmed that less than 15 000 tickets are left on sale. They tweeted ” #Buccaneers there are less than 15 000 tickets left for the #SowetoDerby against @KaizerChiefs this Saturday, March 03.”  

☠#Buccaneers📣📣📣 There are less than 15 000 tickets left for the #SowetoDerby against @KaizerChiefs this Saturday, March 3rd ⏳⌚😲
🎫🎫🎫 Visit https://t.co/52HS0FFsni and book your seat to the most watched #AbsaPrem fixture! 🔥⚽
⚫⚪🔴⭐#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/pjyZOVGPrT

— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates) March 1, 2018

Over the last few years, we have seen a decline in performance, goals or entertainment in this rivalry match; however, because of the love of the beautiful game, fans still continue to support their favorites and go out to the stadiums in numbers.

Debuts

Justin Shonga’s name is on everyone’s lips at the moment after a fine performance he put up for the Buccaneers over the past weekend when they thrashed Chippa United 4-2 in a 6 goal thriller match. Besides scoring a brace, the 21-year-old Zambian international bagged a ‘man of the match’ accolade that is sure to secure him a spot on the starting XI for Saturday’s game.

For the Glamour boys, Leonardo Castro is described as a star that makes Amakhosi tick. Should he make it to Steve Kompela’s list of men, this will be his first ever derby in Gold and Black since joining the club from Sundowns early this year.

Other players that could make their derby debut this weekend are Teenage Hadebe, Dumisani Zuma, Siphelele Ntshangase,, Jackson Mabokgwane, Lyle Forster, Austin Mulenga and Musa Nyatama.

The title chase

The two ‘Soweto giants’ are chasing the first placed Mamelodi Sundowns (40 points), and getting the 3 points is vital if they are to keep their title hopes alive.

After playing 22 matches, Orlando Pirates occupy the second position with 36 points while Kaizer Chiefs sit thirdly with 35 points from the same number of matches played. Should there be a winner by the end of 90 minutes, that gap could be narrowed down to a point or two or simply remain the same depending on the Sundowns-Amazulu match outcome on Friday night.