Thembinkosi Lorch. Image: Twitter.

Pirates confirm injury blows ahead of Chiefs derby

Orlando Pirates have confirmed that some key players will miss the Soweto derby along with suspended coach José Riveiro.

by Craig Lewis

24-02-2023 14:33

in Premier Soccer League

Thembinkosi Lorch. Image: Twitter.

In news that will be seen to balance the playing field to some degree, Pirates have confirmed that they are expected to be without at least four players for Saturday’s Soweto derby against Chiefs.

The game at FNB Stadium kicks off at 3.30pm.

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As we already know, Bucs coach José Riveiro will once again be absent from the bench as he sits out the last game in his red-card suspension. The Spaniard could be joined on the sidelines by several members of the Pirates playing personnel, who are doubtful starters on Saturday.

Goodman Mosele and Thembinkosi Lorch each left the field prematurely over the last two games and might not feature, according to a Pirates statement, joining the likes of Nkosinathi Sibisi and Richard Ofori on the sidelines.

Chiefs have injury worries of their own, with Dillan Solomons and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo both expected to miss out, while Khama Billiat and Reeve Frosler continue to nurse long-term injuries.

Pirates-Chief form guide

This particular derby arrives with the two rivals separated by two log positions, with the Buccaneers occupying third place, three points ahead of Amakhosi.

The visitors come to the clash on the back of some good form having claimed back-to-back wins, the last of which was a 2-1 league victory at home to Maritzburg United.

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Pirates have worked their way up from midtable to the verge of breaking into the top two within the space of a few weeks, courtesy of a consistent turn of results where they recorded four wins in their last five games in the Premiership, finding the net 13 times while only conceding four goals.

Their Soweto rivals have not tasted the same success over the past month, and will be looking to bounce back from an unsuccessful outing at home last Sunday, where they fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Golden Arrows.

The defeat was Chiefs’ third in their last five league fixtures, where they have managed a total of four points through a 2-0 win at home to a Royal AM plus a goalless stalemate on the road against TS Galaxy.

A further victory in the Nedbank Cup however shows that winning form has not completely deserted the Glamour Boys, who will no doubt be spurred on by the big occasion.

How to Watch Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs

The Soweto Derby is scheduled to kick off at 15:30 on Saturday and will be broadcast live on SuperSport PSL (202), Variety 4 (209) and SABC1, with match build-up starting at 14:00.

In the Amakhosi camp, besides the potential unavailability of Edmilson Dove, below we list the players who also remain unavailable to Kaizer Chiefs due to injury: