Phunya Sele Sele are looking to secure their maiden win of the season in the league, but they will be up against a dangerous Bucs side
Bloemfontein Celtic will welcome Orlando Pirates in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match at Dr Molemela Stadium on Wednesday.
Phunya Sele Sele are coming off a morale-boosting 1-1 draw away to SuperSport United in the MTN8 semi-final first-leg match over the weekend.
However, Celtic are winless in the league this season having recorded a draw and a defeat and coach John Maduka will be keen to guide his side to a win over Pirates.
Siwelele will be taking on a Pirates side which is oozing with confidence after securing an emphatic 3-0 win over their archrivals Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8 encounter.
Bucs will be without their coach Josef Zinnbauer and his assistant Fadlu Davids has been tasked with guiding the team to its maiden win of the season in the league having drawn their first two games in the competition.
TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch
The game will be shown live on SuperSport TV.
| Online Streaming | TV Channel |
|---|---|
| DStv.com/DStv Now App | SuperSport’s Variety 3 channel 208 |
Squads & Team News
Celtic could be without Jackson Mabokgwane with the former Pirates goalkeeper having been substituted against SuperSport after sustaining an injury.
Maduka has a good replacement in Sipho Chaine, who replaced Mabokgwane and the 23-year-old caught the eye in the bio-bubble as the first-choice keeper.
Ndumiso Mabena is the dangerman for Phunya Sele Sele with the former Pirates striker having found the back of the net against SuperSport and he will be looking to haunt Bucs by leading Celtic to a win.
Meanwhile, Pirates have been sweating over the fitness of their key striker Frank Mhango, who missed the Soweto Derby clash against Chiefs due to an injury.
The Malawi international’s absence was not felt by the team as his replacement Zakhele Lepasa was on the scoresheet with Thembinkosi Lorch and Vincent Pule scoring the other goals.
Davids will pin the team’s hopes of securing a win over Celtic on Lorch after the Bafana Bafana international scored and grabbed an assist against Chiefs and he has the ability to inspire Pirates to a win.
Match Preview
Celtic are winless in their last three matches across all competitions having registered two draws and one defeat.
However, the Free State giants are enjoying a nine-match unbeaten run at home in the league – recording five draws and four wins.
While Pirates are undefeated in their last seven matches across all competitions having registered five wins and two draws.
The Soweto giants are also unbeaten in their last two away games in the league – recording one draw and one victory.
In head-to-head stats since 1985, Celtic and Pirates have clashed in 64 league matches.
Bucs have dominated this fixture recording 32 wins compared to 15 for Siwelele, while 17 matches have been drawn.
Last season, Pirates collected four points from Celtic as they recorded a 3-1 win at home in the first round clash before the two teams drew 0-0 in Bloemfontein in the second round.
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