The fixtures are rolling in rapidly for Orlando Pirates, who shift focus to another midweek Betway Premiership fixture when they host TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday.
Just two days after progressing in the CAF Champions League, focus quickly shifts back to the league for the Buccaneers. They play hosts to the Rockets, who are among the in-form teams at this stage of the Premiership campaign.
The stage is set for what promises to be another exciting battle for three points between two sides whose season has followed a similar pattern.
The Opposition
With one point separating the Rockets from their hosts, they make the trip to Soweto sitting higher up in the standings. This is after an impressive turnaround in form after kicking the 2025/26 league season off with back-to-back defeats.
Having got off the mark rather emphatically on the third game week, they have gone on a five-match unbeaten run where they have bagged 13 out of an available 15 league points to take up fifth place on the log.
Seven of the Rockets’ league points have been collected away from home where they defeated Chippa United and Orbit College before their winning run was interrupted by a stalemate against Richards Bay. They only failed to register an away point in a defeat to Sekhukhune United, and are currently the league’s top scorers on the road with eight goals scored and four conceded in four matches.
The match at Orlando Stadium could be yet another one they’re forced to navigate without experienced striker Sedwyn George, who has been kept out of action by an ankle injury sustained in August.
Bucs Team News
Much like their opponents, Pirates have maintained their commendable form of late as they secured a spot in the next round of the Champions League with an emphatic 4-0 win at home to Lesotho champions Lioli on Saturday. It was their sixth straight win in all competitions, and their return to the Premiership presents a chance to take their league winning streak to five games.
They’ve collected 12 league points during this stretch of victories without conceding and found their way to eighth place in the standings, having occupied the lower half of the table in the initial stages of their campaign.
Despite finding their stride in recent weeks, the Buccaneers’ free-scoring exploits elsewhere are yet to be transferred to their home league fixtures. They have found the net just twice in three league games played at Orlando Stadium, going down 1-0 to Sekhukhune before producing similar scorelines in their favour in claiming three points against each of Stellenbosch and Orbit College.
Following another tight win on the road in their most recent Premiership outing, the Soweto Giants could be tasked with producing more of the same grit against a stubborn Galaxy outfit.
They have some injury concerns heading into the fixture, with Relebohile Mofokeng among the doubtful starters for Tuesday’s match after sitting out the clash against Lioli.
Head-to-Head
Since first crossing paths in the 2020/21 season, Pirates and Galaxy have clashed 10 times with all their competitive encounters occurring in the league.
It is the Buccaneers who hold a slight upper hand in those five seasons, having emerged on the winning side five times while losing just three times. However, the Rockets will take some heart from their last visit to Orlando, where they salvaged a point through a last-gasp equaliser in a match that finished with a 1-1 score.
It was a rare away point in this fixture for the men from Mpumalanga as they halted a three match losing streak on the road against the Soweto Giants. Their only other away stalemate was achieved in the very first encounter between the two sides when Masilakhe Phohlongo cancelled out an early strike from Bongani Sam.
TV Coverage and Ticket Info
The fixture is scheduled to kick off at 19:30 and can be streamed live on SuperSport PSL. Live updates will be available across all Orlando Pirates social media channels.
Tickets to attend the match can be purchased online on OpenTickets as well as selected retail outlets nationwide.
SOURCED FROM BUCS WEBSITE.
