When Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs walk out for the latest Soweto Derby on Saturday, there will be no title thoughts for both Jose Riveiro and Cavin Johnson despite this being a second round fixture.
The Soweto Derby is supposed to influence where the league title lands but just like has been the case for most of the recent years it will not decide anything title related.
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However, that doesn’t weaken the value of the latest edition of this blockbuster fixture.
A crowd closer to the full capacity of 94700 is expected instead of the frequent flood of empty orange seats that usually define football games at FNB Stadium.
At stake is the fact that three points on board will propel any of the two up to second place upon the final whistle.
Pirates have the advantage with 30 points from 19 games.
Chiefs are a point behind having played a similar number of games.
Whoever wins will shoot up to second place for the few hours before Stellenbosch (31 points) and SuperSport United (31 points) play their home games against Cape Town Spurs and AmaZulu, respectively.
Cape Town City (31 points) then play their match on Sunday away at Royal AM in the three games involving the chasing pack.
So, while the league might not end up with the two Soweto giants, there is good reason to push for second place, which then secures Champions League football next season.
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Furthermore, if Johnson is not driven by blind faith, then he must win the Soweto Derby to avoid Pirates completing a league double and then aim to finish second.
Riveiro will also be aiming to prove that he is not a knockout competition coach with priority being improving on the 54 points accumulated last season.
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