The battle to be crowned champions of the Betway Premiership is drawing to a conclusion, Orlando Pirates are now firm favourites and they can effectively seal the title if they win at home to Durban City on Saturday
Orlando Pirates
Pirates haven’t won the league title since 2012 but after Sundowns lost their final game of the season at TS Galaxy on Tuesday they have a golden opportunity to take the crown. Sundowns finished their season early with their CAF Champions League final coming up and they ended up with 68 points and a goal difference of +36. Pirates currently have 65 pints and a goal difference of +44 with this game and an away fixture at relegation threatened Orbit Collage to come.
The Bucs have conceded just 12 league goals all season and they kept 2 more clean sheets in recent away wins at Stellenbosch (2-0) and Magesi (3-0). Since losing to Sundowns in February it’s now 11 league games without defeat, 8 wins and 3 draws and the only other league defeats came in the first 2 matches of the season. Pirates also won the MTN8 and Carling Knockout this season so the chances of a treble are very much alive.
Durban City
Durban City also have silverware to show for their efforts this season, they lifted the Nedbank Cup at the start of this month beating TS Galaxy in the final. Their exploits in the cup may well have taken their toll on the league campaign but City are still in a very healthy seventh position, 1 point clear of Golden Arrows and 5 better off than 3 other teams chasing a top half finish.
City are without a win in their last 6 league games, 3 defeats followed by 3 draws, at home to Orbit College (1-1), away to Siwelele (2-2) and at home to Stellenbosch (0-0).
Recent Head to Head
The first league meeting this season took place towards the end of November and Pirates came away with a 2-0 win.
The Betting
At the time of writing Lucky Fish make Pirates 1 / 5 favourites with the draw trading at46/10 and Durban City can be backed at around 14/1
A game of 3 goals or more in total is priced at 8/10 and it’s 18/10 for both teams to score.
The Verdict:
Pirates won’t want the title race to go to the final day and whilst Durban City are no mugs, I think they will get the job done here. For a betting interest I’m going with Prates to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 in the multi correct score market
Bets: Pirates to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 21/20 with Sportingbet
Note, odds are subject to change