When Kaizer Chiefs get back to action after the FIFA break, it will come with the start of their longest stretch of uninterrupted league games under Nasreddine Nabi, which will define what becomes of their Betway Premiership campaign.
Chiefs' start to the new season has come with wins in the first two league games, before defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns, after which they won against SuperSport United in the Carling Knockout.
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From there, they then lost to the same opponents in the league, drew against Magesi FC, before Sundowns gave them a reminder of how far behind they are with a 4-0 clobbering in the cup.
Up next will be nine consecutive league matches for the Naturena-based side, starting with games against Richards Bay FC and Royal AM – both being played at Peter Mokaba Stadium this month.
The December menu will start in Limpopo for a date with Polokwane City, before a trip to Mbombela to meet TS Galaxy.
In ending the month of Christmas, Amakhosi will host Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium, then travel to Cape Town City for their first game of the New Year.
They then play Stellenbosch FC (FNB Stadium), Golden Arrows (Moses Mabhida), and Sekhukhune United (Moses Mabhida), before being tasked with Nedbank Cup Last 32 duties between January 25-28.
This leaves Chiefs with nine league games in a row to play next, which will come with the value of 27 points.
Whatever Nabi has been planning during the long break, he will know that he needs to collect the majority of those 27 points on offer instead of dropping them like he has done so far.
So far, the team has dropped more points than they have collected and already trail leaders Orlando Pirates by 14 points.
After playing nine league games in a row and the Nedbank Cup Last 32 tie, the Glamour Boys will then reach the halfway mark of their Betway campaign with the Soweto Derby on February 1, 2025.
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By the time the final whistle blows in that match against Orlando Pirates, 45 points will have been available for the taking.
Nabi will have walked long enough in his technical area in absorbing the consequences of whatever results his team will have recorded by then.