PSL Fixtures: Which Teams Have The Toughest Start To The 2024/25 Season?

We’re just a few days away from the start of the 2024/25 PSL season, and excitement is building across the local football landscape. Each of the 16 teams has different objectives for the season—ranging from survival, a top-eight finish, winning titles, and more. Whatever their goals may be, one thing is clear: every team will be looking for a strong start. This marks the 29th PSL season, and the importance of a good start has been proven over nearly three decades. None of the last 16 title winners have lost their opening game, but there’s more.

2 – Only two PSL teams have lost their first game of the season and still gone on to win the title.

39% – Only 39% of teams that lost their opening game have finished in the top eight.

3 – Of the 28 teams that have finished bottom of the table, only three won their opening game.

PSL Matchday 1 Fixtures: 2024/25

• Royal AM v Cape Town City (Saturday 14 Sep)
• Marumo Gallants v Kaizer Chiefs (Saturday 14 Sep)
• Polokwane v AmaZulu (Saturday 14 Sep)
• Richards Bay v TS Galaxy (Sunday 15 Sep)
• Mamelodi Sundowns v Supersport Utd (Tuesday 17 Sep)
• Orlando Pirates v Chippa Utd (Wednesday 18 Sep)
• Sekhukhune v Magesi (Wednesday 18 Sep)
• Stellenbosch  v Golden Arrows (Wednesday 18 Sep)

Using Opta’s Power Rankings, we can assess the difficulty of each team’s opening fixtures. The Opta Power Ranking is a global system that assigns a score to domestic football teams on a scale of 0 to 100, with higher scores representing stronger teams. For instance, Manchester City is rated 100, making them the best club in the world. Al Ahly is rated 83, ranked 106th globally and first in Africa. Sundowns, with a rating of 79.9, are the best team in South Africa and the fifth best on the continent.

The Toughest Starts

Gavin Hunt might want to look away. Based on these rankings, SuperSport United faces the toughest start to the season. They open with an away game against defending champions Sundowns, followed by matches against TS Galaxy (home) and Cape Town City (away), ranked fourth and sixth in the country, respectively. Last season, SuperSport managed just one win, two draws, and two losses from the same set of fixtures, earning five points out of a possible 15. Hunt will surely be eager to improve on those results.

Polokwane City, who face last season’s top three teams in their opening five games, and newly promoted Marumo Gallants (formerly Swallows FC) are also in for a challenging start. Newly promoted Magesi, however, has a more moderate start with the seventh most difficult schedule. Teams like Stellenbosch, Pirates, and Sundowns will be relieved that their early fixtures are less demanding, especially considering they also have CAF commitments to navigate.

The Easiest Starts

Lehlohonolo Seema will be pleased that, despite the turmoil surrounding the club in recent months, they’ve been handed a favorable start to the season. They kick off against a newly promoted side, followed by matches against teams that finished 11th, 12th, and 13th last season—teams that are ranked globally between 1,400 and 1,500. Golden Arrows, a team they’ve only lost to once in their last six encounters, is part of that run.

There’s good news for Nasreddine Nabi too, as Kaizer Chiefs’ opening five games are ranked the fifth easiest. While the match against Sundowns stands out as a tough one, they also face Marumo Gallants and Magesi in their first five fixtures. Golden Arrows and Royal AM will also look at their early schedules as an opportunity to build some momentum. Last season, Golden Arrows earned 10 points from their first five games, which made up 25% of their total by the season’s end. A similar strong start could boost their chances of a return to the top eight.