AmaZulu host Pirates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and three points will see them leap-frog the top trio into first place. It raises the question, have they entered the title race?
Sundowns (32 points from 15 games) head the table on goal-difference from Pirates (32 from 14), followed by Chiefs (30 from 15) and AmaZulu (30 from 16).
In fifth place is Sekhukhune United, three points off top place, but the fact they have played 17 games and their inconsistency of late (one win in four games) likely means they are not a contender.
But are head coach Arthur Zwane’s Usuthu in this most topsy-turvy of seasons? This is a club who finished second as recently as 2020/21 under Benni McCarthy, while they were sixth last term.
They are currently on a run of three league wins in a row after defeating Lamontville Golden Arrows (1-0), TS Galaxy (3-2) and Marumo Gallants (1-0), and if you extend that back further, they have six wins in eight (L2) since the start of October.
But here is also possibly where the argument falls down. They lost two games in that run, home to Polokwane City (0-1) and in the short journey to Richards Bay (0-2). A title-winning team probably claims victory in those matches.
But Usuthu fans should be allowed to dream. They have kept five clean sheets in that run, a very good sign, and in Zimbabwean forward Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya have a player with six goals in 11 starts in the league since he arrived at the club.
That is encouraging, and AmaZulu’s title challenge, if it is one, will be shaped in their next two league fixtures, home to Pirates on Tuesday and Sundowns on February 24.
If they can come out of those two games still in the hunt, then anything is possible.
Zwane is not getting carried away and says they will take it a game at a time.
“What’s important now is to keep our feet on the ground and remain humble so we can keep giving our best, and we will be rewarded one game at a time,” he said.
History certainly favours Pirates in this clash, AmaZulu have not beaten The Buccaneers since 2013, and have no home win against them since 2009.
In 76 meetings since the formation of the National Soccer League in 1985, Pirates have won 37 to go with just 11 victories for Usuthu and 28 draws.
More recently, Pirates have won five of the last seven (D2), though their last clash, also in Durban in May, ended 1-1.
