The battle to avoid relegation in the new Betway Premiership season could prove a lot more intense than in previous years, as a record number of teams have registered a poor start to the season.
After five rounds of fixtures in the new league season, there were five teams that had not yet won a game: Chippa United, Kruger United, Richards Bay, Marumo Gallants and Siwelele.
That was the largest number of winless teams after the opening five rounds of a season in Premier Soccer League history, eclipsing the previous record, which was four winless clubs after five games.
That happened in 2000/01(African Wanderers, Bloemfontein Celtic, Classic, SuperSport United); again in 2001/02 (Classic, Hellenic, Mamelodi Sundowns, Umtata Bucks); in 2003/04 (Dynamos, Hellenic, Sundowns, Silver Stars) and in the 2019/20 season (AmaZulu, Chippa United, Maritzburg United, Stellenbosch).
Last weekend, in their sixth match of the season, newly promoted Kruger United finally posted a win, but Chippa, Richards Bay, Marumo Gallants and Siwelele are still in search of a victory this campaign.
It is no surprise the last two clubs have already changed coaches.
Last season there were only six points between the bottom five clubs, and it is expected that this campaign will also see a desperate tussle to avoid the bottom two places. The side finishing last is automatically relegated, while the 15th-placed finisher competes in the end of season promotion-relegation playoff.