Marumo Gallants vs Orlando Pirates

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Orlando Pirates make a long-awaited return to Bloemfontein for Saturday’s Betway Premiership clash against Marumo Gallants.

The two sides will lock horns at Free State Stadium at 17:45.

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For the Buccaneers’ the fixture presents a first competitive foray into the city in nearly five years.

They face off against its newest resident in a clash pitting one of South Africa’s oldest football clubs against one of the sides still carving their own history in the country’s sporting landscape.

Form guide

On their return to the big time following a short absence, Marumo Gallants have found the going rather tough and are currently near the bottom of the Betway Premiership standings in 15th place.

This is after stuttering along to just four wins and a total of 16 points in their 18 league fixtures.

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa’s struggles mainly stem from their away form as they boast a slightly improved record in their adopted home, where they have enjoyed three of their victories.

However, the Bloemfontein-based team head into the game against the Soweto giants winless the last two home games – both played in their backyard.

This follows a home defeat to a 10-man Mamelodi Sundowns and a goalless stalemate in last Sunday’s game against Polokwane City.

The draw against Rise and Shine may have been a tad short of the desired result, but it was yet another home fixture where their visitors had drawn blanks in front of goal.

While not nearly as potent as they would like to be on one end of the pitch, Marumo Gallants have been shrewd at the other – keeping clean sheets in three of their last five home fixtures.

Results-wise, they have tallied 12 points at Free State Stadium throughout the season with eight coming against four of the five most recent visitors.

Next to step onto the famous FIFA World Cup venue is a second-place Bucs outfit with some ground to cover in their aspirations to reach the summit of the table.

Since a hard-fought three points at home to Cape Town City, the gap between Orlando Pirates and the table-topping Mamelodi Sundowns has risen to a daunting 15 points.

They do however have four games in hand and will want to make a significant dent in the deficit by dispatching their next hosts.

In order to achieve that, they will need to put behind them the memory of their last away league outing where they tripped up only for the third time in the ongoing league campaign.

Two of their defeats have come in their five last outings on the road, where they boast nine out of a possible 15 points.

In six away fixtures since the start of the season, the Buccaneers have averaged a respectable two points a game.

A total of seven goals and six conceded in their games outside of Soweto suggests that they have mainly crawled over the line, with October’s 2-0 win over TS Galaxy remaining their most significant winning margin on the road.

Team news

The Buccaneers will be one man short in the technical department, with head coach Jose Riveiro unable to take his usual spot in the dugout.

The Spaniard has been suspended for one match after earning a booking during the victory over City.

There has been a boost amid the playing personnel however, with Kabelo Dlamini up for selection after serving his yellow-card ban.

Fellow midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi is meanwhile a slight injury worry after he was stretchered off early in the second half on Saturday.

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa also have a suspension worry of their own with midfielder Monde Mphambaniso unavailable for the clash.

The 32-year-old picked up his fourth caution of the season over the weekend, triggering a one-match ban.

Key players

Tshegofatso Mabasa (Orlando Pirates): The Bucs striker will be making a rare return to his former hunting ground, and does so in red-hot scoring form. With four goals in his last two league appearances, Mabasa will require some attention from the Marumo Gallants defence who will be well aware of the danger he poses following his hat-trick in the reverse fixture.

Edgar Manaka (Marumo Gallants): Highly experienced with valuable miles in the tank, the Marumo Gallants skipper has led from the front in his side’s return to the Betway Premiership. The 35-year-old Manaka has excelled in a defensive role in the centre of the park, while occasionally showing up on the scoresheet.

Head-to-head

Orlando Pirates and Marumo Gallants have so far battled it out five times in the league with their first clash only dating back to August 2021.

Their most recent encounter will still be fresh in memory, especially for the Bucs faithful who witnessed their side romp to an astonishing 8-1 victory at Orlando Stadium just two months ago.

That was the Buccaneers’ fourth win in a row in games against Bahlabane Ba Ntwa, and their third on home soil.

They have managed one win in two attempts on the road, playing to a goalless stalemate in the inaugural encounter between the two sides before bagging a straightforward 2-0 win.

Unsurprisingly, the Soweto giants’ dominance in this rivalry is also reflected under the goals column, where they account for 10 of the 13 goals scored.

Only two of these came in games hosted by Marumo Gallants, who are yet to find the net as the home team and will hope that their recent relocation presents a sharp change in fortunes in this particular fixture.

TV coverage and ticket info

The match starts at 17:45 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport PSL.

Tickets to attend the game are available online on TicketPro as well as selected outlets nationwide.