Orlando Pirates vs Maritzburg United: Prediction, scores, kick-off time and head-to-head

Eric Tinkler takes on the team he once presided over as in-form Maritzburg United travel to Orlando Stadium to take on Orlando Pirates on Tuesday evening in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Much water has passed under the bridge since Tinkler’s departure from the Buccaneers in 2016. Now, they are under the guidance of Rhulani Mokwena, who finds himself under pressure following a Telkom Knockout quarter-final defeat to fierce rivals Kaizer Chiefs.

Mokwena’s Buccaneers will take on Amakhosi in another derby over the upcoming weekend, so now is the ideal time to return to winning ways. Pirates languish eighth on the table heading into the midweek round of fixtures.

“First, congratulations to Kaizer Chiefs, they won the match, we’re never sore losers at Orlando Pirates, we gave it our best, we gave as much as we received but at the end of the day we’re on the losing end, we congratulate the opponent and move on,” Mokwena told SuperSport TV following the derby defeat.

As gracious as Mokwena was in defeat, his opposite number on Tuesday knows all too well that there is immense pressure at Orlando Pirates and Mokwena’s head will be on the block given Pirates’ recent slump.

“We go there in a good moment of form as a squad and in the league, the position has improved. So, we can go there with a lot of confidence and that makes us more dangerous. But you need to respect a club like Orlando Pirates,” Tinkler said in his post-match press conference following a Telkom Knockout win over Highlands Park.

“We have to be respectful of whether they have a good or a bad season because that can quickly change. Obviously we would love to get to the final, that’s a target for us.

“I will tell you that the primary objective is the league, we want to continue playing, winning and have the momentum. We have two league games coming and we need to keep winning, we’re using the Telkom Knockout Cup to have momentum.”

Head-to-head records

These statistics include league and cup matches dating back to the 2006-07 season.

Records	Orlando Pirates	Maritzburg United
Wins	15	6
Draws	6	6
Losses	6	15
Goals for	38	24
Goals against	24	38
Points	51	24

Kick-off time and prediction

Kick-off time: 19:30 on Tuesday 5 November

Prediction: Orlando Pirates’ form in recent weeks has improved to a small extent, but they still have issues to sort out. Nevertheless, home advantage should give them a major boost against the Team of Choice.

However, Maritzburg United have won each of their last five games in all competitions including penalty shootout triumphs over Bidvest Wits and Highlands Park in the Telkom Knockout.

These teams are therefore more evenly-matched on paper than one might assume and a draw is the predicted result.

Highlands Park vs Orlando Pirates: Live score and result