Polokwane, Lions in a two-way battle for pole position

Polokwane City will look to remain in the driver's seat going into the World Cup break, although Hungry Lions are hoping to keep pace with the Motsepe Foundation Championship leaders this weekend.

The action gets underway with one fixture on Friday as JDR Stars welcome TTM to the Giant Stadium.

The Hammer Boys (6th) are slowly creeping up the table after a goalless draw with Black Leopards last Sunday extended their unbeaten run to two outings. Vhadau Vha Damani were the early frontrunners but a string of three consecutive defeats has seen them drop to seventh place.

Hungry Lions will attempt to keep the pressure on the league leaders when they take on newcomers Casric Stars at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium on Saturday.

Lions (2nd) are tied with Rise and Shine on 22 points after arresting a two-match winless run with a 3-0 victory over TTM last Sunday. Stars find themselves just one point outside the promotion places in fourth position after claiming a shock 2-1 win against University of Pretoria last time out.

Meanwhile, last season's runners-up will be determined to get their title challenge back on track when a resurgent Platinum City Rovers visit the Tuks Stadium.

AmaTuks (3rd) saw their unbeaten start to the campaign come to an end at the hands of Casric Stars last Saturday, which extended their winless streak to five games. Rovers recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this term when they beat Magesi 1-0 on the same day to move up to ninth in the standings.

Elsewhere, Cape Town Spurs (8th) host Venda Football Academy (14th) at Athlone Stadium, while rock-bottom Pretoria Callies face All Stars (13th) at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium.

Polokwane City take to the field at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday looking to make newly promoted NB La Masia their fifth straight casualty.

Rise and Shine ran out 3-1 victors over Casric Stars last week to claim their fourth win on the spin and they lead Hungry Lions on goal difference with a game in hand. La Masia (11th) were last in action a fortnight ago when they drew 0-0 with Platinum City Rovers to go winless in their last two encounters.

In the other two fixtures taking place on Sunday, Baroka (12th) and Magesi (10th) meet at the Global Stadium, with Uthongathi (5th) set to entertain Black Leopards (15th) at the Princess Magogo Stadium.

MATCHDAY 12 FIXTURES

Friday

3:30pm: JDR Stars v TTM

Saturday

3:30pm: Cape Town Spurs v Venda Football Academy

3:30pm: Casric Stars v Hungry Lions

3:30pm: Pretoria Callies v All Stars

15h30: University of Pretoria v Platinum City Rovers

Sunday

3:30pm: Polokwane City v NB La Masia

3:30pm: Baroka v Magesi

3:30pm: Uthongathi v Black Leopards