Premier Soccer League leaders Orlando Pirates will be aiming for nothing but three points when they host Stellenbosch on Sunday at the Orlando Stadium.
This will be the second time the two teams will be meeting in the 2024/25 season, after the initial engagement in the MTN8 final, a game the Soweto giants won.
Afrik-Foot takes a look at the two teams, providing you with every detail ahead of the match that will be played in Gauteng.
Pirates vs Stellies: Form Guide and head-to-head record
The Sea Robbers are currently the most in-form team in South Africa in the ongoing campaign across all competitions.
They have won all seven league games played, which is a club record, and will aim to make it eight in a row.
The Buccaneers' latest outing was on Tuesday in the Caf Champions League where they defeated the Algerian outfit 2-1 away.
Stellies are fourth on the table with 12 points after three wins, as many draws and a loss. Their recent outing was in the Caf Confederation Cup away against Stade Maliens, a match that they lost 2-0.
In the head-to-head record, the latest MTN8 meeting ended 3-1 in favour of Bucs; prior to the fixture, Stellies had won three of the five matches across all competitions, with Pirates winning the remaining two.
Pirates vs Stellies: What they said
Ahead of the match, coach Jose Riveiro insisted he is ready to give any player a chance as long as he shows he is ready to deliver.
“I don’t see youngsters or experienced players; they are good, or they are not good enough. They are ready or they are not ready. It’s convenient or not convenient for the game, it’s not about when he was born, or whether he is 20, 19, or 22, it doesn’t make a big difference,” he told the media.
“When the player is ready, he is ready, when the player is talented, he is talented, and that’s the system itself, you play them, or you don’t play them. It’s simple, and people usually talk about taking the risk of playing a young player.
“For me, the risk is when you play a player who is not ready, whether he is 30 or 20, in our case, the boys are showing they are ready and they are capable of surviving in different environments so far. We are happy and we are glad and clearly inspiring more youngsters in our structures to be ready because age is not going to be a problem if they are ready,” Riveiro concluded.
Former Stellies captain Deano van Rooyen will be playing against his boyhood team for the first time in history.
“They wanted to keep me, but I told them, let me follow my dream, I wanted something new in my career,” the defender opened up on his move.
“I wanted to follow my dreams, but it was a difficult decision. You know they say players don’t survive here in the Jo’burg environment, everything is fast here, the lifestyle, everything, so for me it’s to behave on and off the field.
“I know why I came here, for me, it’s now to stay focused and just do my job here at Orlando Pirates, I know everyone says players [from Cape Town] come to Pirates and struggle, but I just need to do the right things, listen to the coaches and what they say,” he concluded.
Pirates vs Stellies: Team news and starting XI
The Buccaneers have no latest injury concerns ahead of the game; their only two key players out are Olisah Ndah and Zakele Lepasa.
Coach Riveiro has no suspended player ahead of the game.
Stellenbosch will have to do without the services of Jayden Oswin Adams who is suspended. The club does not have any new injuries ahead of the tough assignment.
Pirates probable XI: Chaine, Van Rooyen, Hotto, SIbisi, Sesane, Makhaula, Mbatha, Maswanganyi, Nkota, Mofokeng, Makgopa
Stellies probable XI: Stephes, Moloisane, Mcaba, Mdaka, Nduli, Barns, Jabaar, de Jong, Palace, Jurgens, Titus
Pirates vs Stellies: Time & where to watch
The match will be live on SuperSport TV's Premier Soccer League channel 202 and will kick off at 15.30 South African time.
