Birds, Amakhosi renew their rivalry

Swallows FC and Kaizer Chiefs will renew their Soweto derby rivalry when they meet in a DStv Premiership match at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Kick-off is at 7.30pm CAT.

Swallows come into the match on the back of a 4-0 thrashing suffered at the hands of Golden Arrows in mid-September – a result which saw the dismissal of coach Dylan Kerr. This has left interim coach Musa Nyatama in charge and looking to bring the Birds away from trouble, as they find themselves just one place and one point above the relegation playoff spot.

Chiefs, meanwhile, returned to winning form in their last league outing, as new striker Caleb Bimenyimana scored two goals to secure a 2-1 triumph over SuperSport United.

The Amakhosi head into the midweek round of matches placed ninth on the log, though they are only three points ahead of their upcoming opponents.

In addition, Chiefs were in action this past Sunday, playing to a 1-1 home draw with AmaZulu in the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal – Usuthu led through Frank Mhango, but the Amakhosi levelled via Keagan Dolly.

Battles to watch

Wandisile Letlabika v Caleb Bimenyimana

Chiefs’ Burundian striker made a major impact in their last league match, scoring twice to secure a 2-1 triumph over SuperSport United. The experienced Letlabika will need to be at his best to quell the threat of the Amakhosi’s lanky attacker.

Mbulelo Wambi v Yusuf Maart

Wambi and Maart will have a fierce battle in midfield to establish a foothold in the ‘engine room’ for their respective teams. Wambia has the edge on speed and mobility, but Maart is a superb passer of the ball and has great positional awareness.

Mwape Musonda v Zitha Kwinika

Swallows have had their troubles this season, but Musonda has scored two goals from four appearances, demonstrating that providing him ammunition could be a path out of strife. However, Kwinika will be well aware of the threat posed by the 31-year-old centre-forward.

What the teams are saying

Swallows FC CEO Sipho Xulu

“We haven’t yet decided who is going to be our next coach,” Xulu said. “We haven’t spoken about it yet due to some delays that popped up. No decision has been made yet, the management will make an announcement soon.

“For now, the arrangement is internal, which means the people who were working with Dylan Kerr will be in charge of the team’s training and planning until a new coach is appointed.

“Those people are Musa Nyatama, who has been acting as an assistant to Dylan Kerr, as well Thela Thela, our goalkeeper coach.

“Those are the people who are training the team, assisted by our DStv Diski Challenge team coach.

“As soon as our position changes, we will make an announcement.”

Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane

“We could've easily scored four, five or six goals [against AmaZulu in the MTN8] but it wasn't to be in terms of scoring goals,” said Zwane. “But we've just made it a whole lot more difficult for ourselves by conceding the goal and now we're heading to Durban having to win the game without conceding, but the most important thing for us is scoring those goals.”

He added, “We have done well today and just couldn't take our chances, but we just dropped the tempo a bit after we scored the equaliser and I don't know why.”

Did you know?

- Dillon Solomons scored twice from the penalty spot for Swallows when these teams last met, but he is now a Chiefs player.

- Swallows and Chiefs have not played out a goalless stalemate since February 2010.

- With 14 goals conceded, Swallows have the worst defensive record in the Premiership so far in 2022-23.

- Chiefs will be looking to record back-to-back league wins for the first time since beating Baroka FC 1-0 and Orlando Pirates 2-1 in late February and early March.

Head-to-head stats

In head-to-head stats, Swallows and Chiefs have met in 65 league matches dating back as far as 1985. The Amakhosi have claimed 35 wins compared to 12 for the Birds, while 18 games have been drawn.

Swallows have recorded seven wins, seven draws and 18 defeats in 32 matches as hosts in this rivalry.

Last season Chiefs took four points off their rivals in the two Premiership encounters: a 3-1 win at Dobsonville in November 2021 and a 2-2 draw in the return game at FNB Stadium in May 2022.

LAST 10 LEAGUE RESULTS

Season Result Scorers

2012/13 Chiefs 3-2 Swallows Letsholonyane 2, Majoro; Chabangu, Chenene

2012/13 Swallows 1-3 Chiefs Parker 2, Lebese

2013/14 Chiefs 1-1 Swallows Parker (pen); Chabangu

2013/14 Swallows 0-2 Chiefs Nkhatha, Musona

2014/15 Chiefs 1-1 Swallows Letsholonyane; Baloyi

2014/15 Swallows 0-3 Chiefs Cohen (og), Lebese, Parker

2020/21 Swallows 1-0 Chiefs Mhlongo

2020/21 Chiefs 1-1 Swallows Castro; Malinga

2021/22 Swallows 1-3 Chiefs Mokoena; Dolly, Billiat 2

2021/22 Chiefs 2-2 Swallows Parker, Nange; Solomons 2 (2 pens)