Stellenbosch clashes with Golden Arrows, while rookies Magesi United take on Sekhukhune United in opening-round Betway Premiership action on Wednesday evening.
Stellenbosch FC v Golden Arrows
Stellenbosch will host Golden Arrows at the Athlone Stadium in their first 2024/25 Betway Premiership assignment on Wednesday evening.
Having played in six fixtures across the board already this season, Stellies go into their first Betway Premiership game on the back of six consecutive victories.
Stellenbosch are already in-line to bag silverware for the current campaign after back-to-back 1-0 wins against Mamelodi Sundowns in the semifinals of the MTN8 tournament last month. They will face back-to-back winners Orlando Pirates in the final.
The Cape Winelands side have also competed in the CAF Confederations Cup this season, recording comprehensive 3-0 and 5-0 wins against Nsingizini Hotspurs in the first preliminary round of the showpiece.
Stellenbosch last featured in a 2-0 win against AS Vita in their second preliminary round first-leg tie in the CAF Confederations Cup on Friday, the 13th of September.
Remarkably, Golden Arrows have finished ninth on the Betway Premiership standings for the last three seasons in a row and will be looking to break into the top eight which has so agonisingly eluded them since a fourth-placed finish in the 2020/2021 season.
This week, they announced former Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagiso Dikgacoi as new second assistant coach to Mabhuti Khenyeza ahead of the new campaign. Musa Bilankulu is Khenyeza’s other assistant.
Abafana Bes’thende have made seven signings – the most notable being the experienced Menzi Masuku as well as Sundowns reserve goalkeeper Ismail Watenga and Keenan Phillips from Swallows, while Bradley Cross has moved in the opposite direction to Kaizer Chiefs.
The Lamontville-based side are winless in their last five fixtures against Stellies.
Magesi FC v Sekhukhune United
Newly-promoted Magesi United will do battle with Sekhukhune United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday evening as the sides get their Betway Premiership campaigns underway.
Magesi gained automatic promotion to the top-flight after finishing first in the Motsepe Foundation Championship with two league matches remaining means that Limpopo will now have three teams in the top flight next season.
Di Kwena tsa Meets, from rural Moletj have an experienced and knowledgeable coaching unit with Clinton Larsen as head coach overseen by technical director and former Mamelodi Sundowns manager Peter Kotroulis.
Sekhukhune, meanwhile, already have minutes under their belt this season after competing in the MTN8 and Confederations Cup during the months of August and September, having shocked the local football scene with a fourth-placed finish last campaign.
Babina Noko’s first competitive assignment of the campaign came against Cape Town City in the MTN8 quarterfinals, where they lost 1-0 against Eric Tinkler’s charges at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on 10 August.
The Limpopo-side also competed in the second preliminary round of the CAF Confederations Cup this past Saturday, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Lunda Sul at Estadio 11 de Novembro.
This will be the first top-flight league meeting between Sekhukhune United and Magesi FC.