Relegation battle takes centre stage

The relegation battle at the bottom of the DStv Premiership will take centre stage in a set of six fixtures played from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 April.

The bottom three clubs – Maritzburg United (16th with 25 points, -16 goal difference), Chippa United (15th with 26 points, -11 goal difference) and Swallows FC (14th with 28 points, -12 goal difference) will be in action on Thursday: the Birds and the Team of Choice have a six-pointer at the Dobsonville Stadium in the early-evening kick-off, while the earlier game sees the Chilli Boys looking to upset Kaizer Chiefs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Swallows interim coach Musa Nyatama has said that his side has “four cup finals” remaining in the Premiership as they look to remain above the red zone.

“We've got four cup finals coming up in a very difficult situation and we really have to grind for results. There’s no other option. We'll just have to take one game at a time and also hopefully next week we’ll get the maximum points,” said Nyatama, who took over the reins from Ernst Middendorp following his departure in March.

“But even if we get the points against Maritzburg, we’re still not safe. We have Royal AM away, Kaizer Chiefs away and then [Marumo] Gallants, who are also fighting for their lives down there. So it won't be easy.”

Saturday’s trio of games sees Royal AM and Cape Town City meet at Chatsworth Stadium, Stellenbosch FC welcome Golden Arrows to the Danie Craven Stadium, and AmaZulu host Sekhukhune United at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Usuthu, who have managed just one win from their last 10 league outings, are just three points above the relegation zone and need to snap their poor run of form.

“At the crucial moment we slept and they punished us,” said interim coach Ayanda Dlamini of their defeat at the hands of SuperSport United last weekend. “It’s been the story of our season, letting one goal in, a second goal in, now we have to chase the game. On a positive note, the boys are fighting [to improve results] and if they continue with this fight, somewhere, somehow, we’ll get it right.”

The weekend’s action wraps up on Sunday afternoon at Mbombela Stadium, with Orlando Pirates chasing a sixth straight league win when they face TS Galaxy. The Buccaneers are looking to reclaim the second spot from SuperSport and put themselves back on track to qualify for next season’s Caf Champions League.

DStv Premiership fixtures Times CAT

Thursday 27 April

15:00: Chippa United v Kaizer Chiefs
17:30: Swallows FC v Maritzburg United

Saturday 29 April

15:00: Royal AM v Cape Town City
17:30: Stellenbosch FC v Golden Arrows
20:00: AmaZulu v Sekhukhune United

Sunday 30 April

15:00: TS Galaxy v Orlando Pirates