The PSL teams have been given permission to resume contact training, we take a look at how the remainder of the season might unfold.
Photo Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Two Horse Race
Mamelodi Sundowns are now realistically the only team that can challenge Kaizer Chiefs for the league title. Amakhosi are enjoying a four-point lead over their rivals however the defending champions have a game in hand which potentially makes the gap just one point. These sides still have to play each other during the course of the season.
Ernst Middendorp’s men are looking for their first league title in five years while Pitso Mosimane and his troops are looking to make on three in a row, a feat last achieved by Gavin Hunt’s SuperSport United between 2008 & 2010. The only other team to manage it in the modern era is Sundowns between 1998 & 2000.
Mosimane has said a lot of negative thing about Kaizer Chiefs this season regarding how he feels they benefit from contentious refereeing decisions and how lucky he thinks Middendorp has been, making politics one of the main ingredients to spice up the mouth-watering title race.
Race for the Top Eight
Golden Arrows, Highlands Park, Bloemfontein Celtic, Cape Town City and Stellenbosch are battling it out for the realistically available two spots. They lie seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th respectively with five points separating 11 from seventh.
Arrows will be looking to recover from the tragic loss of their captain Nkanyiso “Cobra” Mngwengwe while Highlands Park would feel they have unfinished business in the MTN8 after losing 1-0 to SuperSport United in last year’s final. Prior to that, Cape Town City had reached two consecutive finals under Benni McCarthy and an MTN8 tournament without them feels incomplete.
Celtic are rumoured to be for sale but it’s something they’ve been able to deal with over the years. Lehlohonolo Seema and John Maduka are doing a great job in terms of keeping the players focused on their job.
Chippa United who are placed 12th can still launch a dramatic challenge under the tutelage of Rulani Mokwena who seems to be transforming the side. The former Orlando Pirates caretaker coach is looking to revive his career at a lesser club but will the trigger happy Chippa Mpengesi give him ample time to implement his philosophy?
Battle for survival
The three teams placed between 13th and 15th namely Baroka, Polokwane City and AmaZulu are tied on 23 points which is only three points clear of bottom-placed Black Leopards. There surely will be some twists and turns with every passing gameweek as we approach the end of the season.
We are all waiting with a great deal of anticipation for competitive football to return to watch the drama unfold.
Written by Benedict Ngwenya for Hollywoodbets
