telkom knockout results

Thembinkosi Lorch of Orlando Pirates celebrates goal and Itumeleng Khune of Kaizer Chiefs watching during the 2018 Telkom Knockout semifinal match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban on 24 November 2018 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Soweto derby | Chiefs with AND without Khune against Pirates [the stats]

Kaizer Chiefs will be without Itumeleng Khune against Orlando Pirates on Sunday, but how much impact will that have on their chances?

telkom knockout results

Thembinkosi Lorch of Orlando Pirates celebrates goal and Itumeleng Khune of Kaizer Chiefs watching during the 2018 Telkom Knockout semifinal match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban on 24 November 2018 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Kaizer Chiefs will be without Itumeleng Khune for Sunday’s Soweto derby clash against Orlando Pirates, but how much impact will that have on their Amakhosi’s chances to win?

Kick-off at the FNB Stadium is at 15h00.

Chiefs are currently on a six-match winless streak in the league – four draws and two defeats – and they need maximum points more than their arch-rivals given their position on the log.

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Gavin Hunt’s men head into this crucial encounter sitting 11th on the PSL log and will be without a number of their star players, including Khune, Khama Billiat, and Lebogang Manyama among others.

Khune was given extended leave following the passing away of his sister, Mapula, but Hunt would certainly have liked to have him in his matchday squad for the Pirates match.

However, this will not be the first that Khune misses the Soweto derby.

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He has previously missed 15 Soweto derby matches since his making his ‘debut’ in the spectacle in 2007, meaning Chiefs will be without the goalkeeper’s services against Pirates for the 16th time this weekend.

Now, how did Chiefs fare in the matches that Khune wasn’t on the pitch against Pirates?

In the 15 matches that Khune missed against Pirates, Chiefs won seven, including the 6-5 and 6-4 penalty shoot-out wins in the Telkom Knockout Cup in 2015 and 2019 respectively.

Amakhosi suffered four defeats without Khune, and three of those losses came this season – twice in the MTN8 semi-finals and once in the league.

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The only other time was in 2016 when Reyaad Pieterse was given a rare start against Pirates in the Last 32 of the Nedbank Cup. Bucs walked away 2-0 winners with Tendai Ndoro netting both goals.

This means Chiefs don’t really miss Khune despite his Soweto derby pedigree.

On the other side of the coin, Khune’s presence against Pirates hasn’t really been felt by Chiefs either .

This is because he has featured in 27 Soweto derby matches since 2007.

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And with him between the sticks, Chiefs won just four of the 27 matches, suffered a whopping 10 defeats while the other 13 matches ended in draws.

Furthermore, Khune conceded 31 goals and kept just seven clean sheets in those 27 competitive games against the Sea Robbers.