PSL Team Of The Season By Opta Jabu

The PSL 2023/24 season is well into its second quarter, with Sundowns leading the league since August. Cape Town City can overtake Sundowns with a win this weekend, while SuperSport can do the same on Tuesday. As of today, Sundowns have spent 110 of the 114 days at the top of the top of the table. Supersport (3) and Arrows(1) share the other. With the table starting to take shape, our team has put together a Team of the Season so far, based on publicly available Opta data.

Manuel Sapunga

Polokwane City’s Manuel Sapunga is the choice in goals. The Equatoguinean keeper rarely featured for the club last season, and even at the start of this season. But he has kept five clean sheets in seven league games since making his first start against Amazulu in September. He is joint-top of the keepers’ list in terms of goals conceded per 90 (0.3), while he is also first for the ratio of saves to shots faced (93%) and second in the division for saves per 90 minutes (at 3.7).

Marc van Heerden

The veteran defender is enjoying his life in the Mother City and should clock 1000 league minutes this coming weekend, going past his total from last season (988). Although deployed at left-back, he has been keying in City’s build-up with the rest of the back line and is in the top 3% in the league for accurate passes (47 per 90) and for accurate long balls (5 per 90). Defensively, he is also in the top 3% for clearances, averaging about 5 clearances per outing.

Tholo Thabang Matuludi

Polokwane City has quietly impressed in the league since their promotion, and their defence has been largely responsible for that. They are joint leaders in the league for clean sheets (6 in 12 games), with only three teams conceding fewer goals. Tholo Matuludi has been a regular presence in the backline and is the outright leader in the league for interceptions per game (90).

Aubrey Modiba

Sundowns have not played a league game in two months, but some of their players still rank highly statistically. Aubrey Modiba is one of those. He is exceptional with the ball at his feet, completing 82% of his passes, putting him in the top 2% in the league among all players, and even higher when you consider fullbacks alone. His volume of passes is also impressive (48 per 90 minutes), ranking him in the Top 3%.

Teboho Mokoena

The reigning Player of the Year has continued where he left off last season. Used a bit more sparingly (he hasn’t completed three consecutives 90s in the league), he is still the country’s most accurate passer, averaging 73 accurate passes per 90 minutes. Of players with 35+ accurate passes per 90, he is among the top five most accurate passers (88%).

Jamie Webber

Sekhukhune have blown hot and cold this season (they haven’t won 2 in a row in the league), but Webber has consistently delivered top performance in the middle of the field. The 25-year-old is creator-in-chief for his side, with 19 chances created in the league this season, which places him joint-2nd in the entire division. He is also joint second for big chances created (5) and would have more assists if his finishers were more clinical.

Edson Castillo

The Venezuelan international has been a bright spot in a rather underwhelming season for Kaizer Chiefs. His 80% pass success rate is handy in midfield, but he has been most impressive up-front averaging 2,3 shots per 90, which places him second at Chiefs. His box crashing has yielded five goals already this season, making him Chiefs’ top scorer. The value of the goals is also noteworthy, with two equalizers and a 90th-minute winner as part of his collection.

Marcello Allende

His coach has applauded him several times this season, but even the eye test shows how crucial he has been to Sundown’s impressive start. The Chilean ranks third in the league for accurate passes (67 per 90), and most of these are progressive passes helping Sundowns break down stubborn defences. No Sundowns player has created more chances in the league this season (13), and he is also in the league’s Top 10 for chances created.

Sanele Barns

The Richards Bay unlocker is enjoying another excellent start to the campaign. Last season, he finished the season 3rd in the league for chances created with 47 throughout. He has already gone past half that total this season, with 25 chances created. That’s at least six more than any other player in the league. His form and creativity will be crucial to Richards Bay’s challenge of ensuring survival.

Jayden Adams

It’s incredible that a 22-year-old has played the most minutes for Stellenbosch this season (outfield players only), but Jayden Adams continues to repay the faith shown in him by his coaches. No Stellenbosch player has created more chances than Adams (13 this season), meaning he is also in the league’s Top 10 for chances created. His 4 big chances are also only bettered by Jamie Webber and Darwin Gonzalez.

Lucas Ribeiro

The Brazilian is an easy choice in the forward line. Although other players have scored more goals (Ribeiro is on 5, plus one assist), his record per 90 minutes remains unrivaled. At 0.94 goals per 90, he is the best striker in the league in that metric. Last season, Cassius Mailula led the league for goals per 90 and shots on target per 90, and Ribeiro has come in and taken the same spot. His 1.7 shots on target per 90 is a league-high, and he is 4th in the league for shots per 90 overall.

Data from Opta via FOTMOB, who rank players and teams weekly.

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