A full round of PSL matches is scheduled for the next few days, with all sixteen teams playing between Saturday and Tuesday. While the title race continues to take twists and turns, the race to avoid relegation is very unpredictable as well.
Both races are rather reminiscent of The Bold & The Beautiful – when you think one character is no longer in the picture, they somehow come back to life and become a key part of the story. We’ve crunched through some of the numbers to bring you some stats ahead of a busy betting weekend.
Saturday 22 August
15:00 -Polokwane City v Baroka FC
Relegation battling Polokwane City host Highlands Park at Loftus Versveld on Saturday. Polokwane have the worst 100% record since the restart, losing both their games with a net score of -3. They kept four clean sheets in their opening five games this season, but only one in their last 21. With this in mind, conceding in this game could be very likely. Yet, even if they concede, Highlands Park are not great scorers themselves.
3 – Highlands Park have never scored three goals in a league game since they were promoted to the top-flight in 2016.
Bet Now: Highlands Park to score
18:00 – Baroka v Chippa
Baroka battled to a draw against Pirates during the week but could find themselves in the relegation places if Polokwane City win earlier in the day. They face Chippa, who have tightened up at the back again after leaking nine goals in five matches between January and February. They have now conceded one in the last three, including one match before the restart. Although they are shy upfront, Chippa are one of only seven sides that concede less than a goal a game on average.
1 – Chippa have lost just one of the seven matches they’ve played against Baroka since they
(Baroka) were promoted in 2016, winning three and drawing the other three.
Bet Now: Chippa to win at 3.05 or Double Chance Draw/Chippa at 1.45
Sunday 23 August
Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates
Cape Town City host Orlando Pirates this Sunday on the back of a 1-0 loss to Stellenbosch. The Citizens couldn’t find the net (at least legally) in the Cape derby, even if they were free scoring against Sundowns last week. Their history with Pirates is one of many draws – against no other side have they drawn on more occasions (6). Also, Pirates have been struggling for goals and wins of late.
5 – Pirates are now winless in five league games (Lost 1 Drew 4), their longest such streak since a run of six in October/November 2017.
18:00 – Kaizer Chiefs v Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch have lost to Kaizer Chiefs in all of their three previous meetings, twice in the Nedbank Cup and once in the league. Their last meeting in the reverse fixture in November was a breeze for Chiefs, who ran out 4-0 winners. That four-goal margin was Chiefs’ biggest winning margin in the league since 2015.
But Clive Barker’s men are a much wiser outfit now. If they can play like they did against Cape Town City on Thursday and Chiefs play like they did against Celtic on Wednesday, then they could bag their first win over Chiefs and 10th league win this season. Stellies (18) have actually won more points than Chiefs (17) since the start of 2020. With nine wins all season, they have really punched above their weight.
10 – In the 30-game PSL era (2002 onwards), only five newly promoted sides have won 10+ league games in their first top-flight season.
Stellies haven’t drawn a league match since November last year. They either win or lose.
Bet Now: Kaizer Chiefs to win at 1.46