The ‘final’ matchday of the 2024-25 Betway Premiership will see qualification for the Caf Confederation Cup, the top-eight race, and relegation all on the line.
However, with one fixture set to be completed next midweek (Orlando Pirates v Magesi FC) and one cancelled fixture (SuperSport United v Golden Arrows) still undecided, not everything will be settled when the six matches scheduled for Saturday afternoon are completed by about 5pm CAT.
The most perilous and complex situation is that of relegation. With Royal AM ejected from the top flight, the team that finishes 15th will play in the promotion/relegation playoff with two Motsepe Foundation Championship clubs.
As things stand, that is Cape Town City, though SuperSport United (who are ahead of City only on goal difference), Golden Arrows (one point ahead of the pair) and even Magesi FC (three points clear) could all end up in the dreaded playoff spot.
Things are further complicated by the prospect of SuperSport and Arrows potentially completing their abandoned fixture from earlier in the season. Their clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in February was abandoned at halftime due to load shedding, with the score at 1-1.
City, SuperSport and Arrows would all have loved to play against teams with no major ambitions remaining for the season, but that is not the case.
CAPE CLASH
City will have a tough clash at the Cape Town Stadium against Western Cape rivals Stellenbosch FC, who need a win to guarantee a third-place finish and secure qualification for the Caf Confederation Cup.
Stellies’ threat to that ambition comes from Sekhukhune United, who will be away to Golden Arrows at the Princess Magogo Stadium, while SuperSport’s opponents at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, Richards Bay, have a shot at finishing in the top eight – but only if they defeat Matsatsantsa.
“[The match against Richards Bay is a] massive one for us, there’s plenty positives, plenty positives,” said interim SuperSport coach, Andre Arendse, after his team’s defeat to Orlando Pirates in midweek.
“So, we’ll look to maybe see if we need to refresh the team a little bit. There’s some heavy legs out there, a lot of these guys have played consecutively in the last five six games.
“So, we need to freshen things up a little bit, we’ll look at that on the training ground and see who’s ready to step up and what the legs is going to give us. I got all the confidence in this group of players.
"We going to have to do it the hard way, but like I said, I got full confidence that this group is going to see this over the line.”
The top-eight race will also be a focus for Kaizer Chiefs, who need to defeat Polokwane City at the FNB Stadium to guarantee a place in next season’s MTN8, while Magesi FC and Marumo Gallants have the same ambition for their clash at Seshego Stadium.
The only clash that has nothing on the line is AmaZulu FC v Orlando Pirates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium: Usuthu will finish in the top eight regardless of this game’s outcome or results elsewhere, while the Buccaneers will finish second no matter their results in Durban and at home to Magesi next midweek.
Betway Premiership weekend fixtures
Times CAT
Saturday 24 May
15:00: AmaZulu FC v Orlando Pirates
15:00: Cape Town City v Stellenbosch FC
15:00: Golden Arrows v Sekhukhune United
15:00: Kaizer Chiefs v Polokwane City
15:00: Magesi FC v Marumo Gallants
15:00: SuperSport United v Richards Bay