18 January 2019, by: Thabang Kgeledi

ABSA PREMIERSHIP RELEGATION BATTLE: CHIPPA VS MARITZBURG 

Fifteenth-placed Chippa United host bottom of the table Maritzburg United on Saturday afternoon. The winner of this game is most probable to survive the drop but, who will it be?

??? FIXTURE ALERT ???
⚠️ @ChippaUnitedFC vs @MaritzburgUtd
? Sat, 19 January 2019
?️ @NMB_Stadium
? Kick Off 15:30
? Tickets available at @TicketProSA
? 10 000 Tickets Giveaway on Wed, 16 Jan 2019, 9AM-4PM at @NMB_Stadium @TicketProSA Office#ayeyechilliboyzayeye pic.twitter.com/dSkw7sFGnW

— Chippa United FC (@ChippaUnitedFC) January 15, 2019

Time flies when you having fun, doesn’t it? There are only 13 games left in the Absa Premiership season. We’ve passed the halfway stage of this campaign, we’ve seen wonderful goals, shock results, and referees in ugly lime green jerseys.

Under the normal circumstances, this is around the time the log table takes shape. The top eight clubs should be pulling away, leaving the teams with less than 100,000 Instagram followers behind. Whilst the bottom five clubs should be the slugging it out for survival.

But in this 2018/2019 campaign, nothing has been cut and dried. For instance, 12th placed Amazulu are only 8 points behind 7th place Bloemfontein Celtics, that’s only two wins and one draw away. However, as close as the bottom is to the top half of the table, wins haven’t been easy to come by for the strugglers. A four-point gap in the PSL means much more than it does in other leagues.

Maritzburg United are away from home against Chippa United on Saturday afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Chippa United are only one point ahead of the Team Of Choice. A loss for either team could have dire consequences on their season. Yes, it’s a cliche must-win game for both sides but who is likeliest to come out tops?

If ever there was a synonym for a dysfunctional soccer team, Chippa United would be it. If ever there was a synonym for irritable, trigger-happy, impatient, look-at-me-the-wrong-way-and-I-might-fire-you chairman, Chippa Mpengesi would be it.

Can we swop Trevor Noah for Chippa Mpengesi? He is just as funny but he’ll also create 10 new jobs in a year. #AmericaCanIAsk pic.twitter.com/kSXX6nIR0I
— Steve NOT Komphela (@BigWordKomphela) January 11, 2019

Chippa Mpengesi fired Chippa United’s 3rd coach of the season last week. If Moroka Swallows taught us anything it’s that: teams that are poorly managed who also have a logo that looks like it was drawn by a four-year-old, usually go down.

Chippa United are a good team with good players and shouldn’t be languishing in their 15th spot on the table. They now hired former Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen for the rest of the season. Anyone putting money on how long he is going to last?

I am disappointed with Maritzburg United. Last season United finished fourth in the league and made it to the Nedbank final. Their football was quick, exciting, and unorthodox. They had a bad start to this season, they lost their first three games. I thought they would get over their slump but it wasn’t to be. The loss of their best player in Lebohang Maboe to Mamelodi Sundowns had a bigger effect than they would have expected. Management fired coach Fadlu Davids three weeks ago and hired Muhsin Ertuğral to save the sinking ship. This is the same Muhsin Ertuğral that couldn’t save Ajax Cape Town from relegation last season – good luck to them.

All over..

Tough defeat. Thank you for your support, #BlueArmy ?#WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/9nb4fgszJk

— Maritzburg United FC (@MaritzburgUtd) January 16, 2019

The last time Maritzburg United won any sort of competitive game, 2018 still existed and the #10yearchallange didn’t (20/10/2018). That’s 11 games ago. So it’s no wonder bet.co.za has Chippa United as favourites. United are good defensively but they don’t seem to understand that the only way to win a soccer match is to… Put. The. Ball. Into. The. Opponents. Net. Chippa United are also a bad team but they at least score goals (seven in their last five games).

The smart money will be on Chippa United nicking a goal or two and holding out for the win.

BET: ABSA PREMIERSHIP

We’ve put together a special BET Boost on Mauricio Pochettino to be the next Manchester United manager. You’ll have to hurry, though, the market closes just before kick-off on Sunday.