Top 5 upcoming sporting events of the weekend


By Neo Poho

Another big sporting weekend is on the horizon as the DSTV Premiership returns, Banyana Banyana begin their Turkish Women's Cup campaign and the Momentum Proteas face Australia in a must win T20 World Cup clash, with that said, here is what you can look forward to this weekend.

1.Soweto Giants face daunting tasks against Maritzburg United and Golden Arrows

Following their progression to the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup last weekend, Orlando Pirates turn their attention back to the DSTV Premiership as they welcome Maritzburg United at the Orlando Stadium on Friday night.

Pirates head into this clash without head coach Jose Riviero after he received a red card in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup against All Stars FC last week however, they will be glad that midfield maestro Thembinkosi Lorch is back and will be very influential in the team.

Lorch alongside Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo and Monnapule Saleng just to name a few will look to emulate their heroics from the Nedbank Cup victory into the Maritzburg clash in a bid to help Pirates claim all the three points.

The Sea Robbers know that it is a must win encounter if they still want to be in the race of finishing second on the log, currently occupying the 4th spot on the table, Pirates have 28 points trailing second place SuperSport United by four points.

With Maritzburg United's head coach being Fadlu Davids, a man that certainly knows Orlando Pirates well, the encounter will not be an easy one for the Buccaneers who also will face former player Kwame Peprah.

Meanwhile at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Kaizer Chiefs will host Golden Arrows for their second home match played at Polokwane.

Chiefs who are oozing with confidence will look to make it 2 wins out of 2 in Polokwane after defeating Royal AM the last time they played their home match there.

Head coach Arthur Zwane mentioned that the team is ready and excited ahead of the trip to Polokwane, Zwane spoke at Kaizer Chiefs' media day on Thursday afternoon citing that after the Arrows encounter they will immediately prepare for the Soweto derby.

"The Arrows encounter is extremely important for us because it sets the tone for the Soweto derby but most importantly we need the three points to stay within touching distance of the second spot on the log," Zwane said

Amakhosi are currently occupying the 5th spot on the log with 28 points, four points behind the runners-up spot.

In other DSTV Premiership encounters during the weekend, we will see Royal AM tackle SuperSport United at the Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday while Sekhukhune United will play Richards Bay at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and in this last fixture on Saturday AmaZulu will welcome TS Galaxy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, except the Chiefs clash with Golden Arrows on Sunday Cape Town City will welcome Swallows FC at the Cape Town Stadium.

2.Coton Sport welcome Mamelodi Sundowns in Cameroon

Mamelodi Sundowns face a daunting task against Cameroon giants Coton Sport in their second fixture of the CAF Champions League at Stade Roumdé Adjia Stadium on Friday night.

Sundowns will be aiming at registering their second successive win in the Champions League after winning their first match against Al-Hilal last weekend at Loftus Versfeld.

However, it will not be an easy encounter against a Coton Sport side that is currently occupying the second spot on the Elite log in Cameroon.

Drawn in group B alongside Al Ahly and Al-Hilal, Coton Sport and Sundowns will be meeting for the very first time in the competition and with both of them looking to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition, it sets to be a clash of the titans in Cameroon.

3.Banyana Banyana are ready for Uzbekistan in the Turkish Cup

After traveling safe to Turkey Banyana Banyana will take on Uzbekistan in their opening fixture of the 2023 Turkish Women's Cup on Saturday.

Although hosts Turkey along with Jordan and Venezuela have pulled out of the tournament due to the Turkey-Syria earthquake, Banyana along with Estonia, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Uzbekistan just to name a few will still continue with the tournament as planned.

Coach Desiree Ellis has mentioned that the team will use the tournament as part of their preparations for the upcoming 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup which starts in July this year.

Ellis has furthermore alluded that the team has not been impacted by the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in the country, as well as the search and rescue efforts which continue.

4.Must win encounter for the Momentum Proteas against Australia

After a convincing 65 runs win over New Zealand on Monday, The Momentum Proteas desperately need another victory to keep their semifinals hopes alive when they face Australia in their third T20 Women's World Cup clash.

Sitting third in group A after two matches, the South African side know that a win against Australia will take them to the second spot heading into the final clash against Bangladesh on the 21st of February.

All-rounder Chloe Tryon has urged the team to continue where they left off against New Zealand mentioning that they can defeat Australia, "We managed to defeat New Zealand convincingly and that was primarily because of the mindset we had ahead of the game and we will keep the same attitude for the Australia encounter," Tryon said

Australia are currently occupying the first spot in group A after playing 3 matches and winning all 3 of those matches against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

5.The Emirates Lions take on the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship

The Cell C Sharks have received a major boost ahead of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg with the return of a couple of players who have been out of action due to injuries.

The Sharks will welcome back Vincent Tshituka who will play against his former employers on Saturday while Dylan Richardson is also back from a fairly lengthy absence and will join Tshituka on a bench that features a six/two split between forwards and backs.

Former Blitzbok Sevens star Werner Kok and Grant Williams are further players returning from injury, although in both of their cases they go straight into the starting line-up.

Another notable return is the inclusion of Fez Mbatha who will occupy the back-up hooker position while Dan Jooste comes in for Kerron van Vuuren at hooker.

With these numerous changes and additions ahead of the clash against the Lions, the Sharks will look to dominate the match in a bid to come out victorious.

In other notable URC fixtures for the weekend, we will see Glasgow Warriors tackle Ulster and Munster welcome Ospreys on Friday night while on Saturday the Bulls will play with the Stormers and Zebre will entertain Connacht.

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