Gustavo Paez scores twice for Kaizer Chiefs against Maritzburg UnitedBackpagepix

Caf Confederation Cup race: Kaizer Chiefs and Maritzburg in with a chance

The battle for a place in next year's Caf Confederation Cup will take centre stage when Kaizer Chiefs visit Ajax Cape Town and Maritzburg United host Golden Arrows on Saturday afternoon. 

Amakhosi are currently placed third on the log with 45 points from 29 games, while the Team of Choice find themselves in fourth position with 43 points from the same number of games. 

For either team to finish third and book their spot in next year's continental football, certain criteria must be met. 

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The Glamour Boys must beat the Urban Warriors to move to 48 points and guarantee themselves a third place finish. 

Should Chiefs lose and Maritzburg United win at home, then the Soweto giants will move back to fourth on the PSL standings.

Of course if both sides lose, draw or win their respective games, then that will not affect their positions on the log in any way, meaning Chiefs will qualify for the Caf Confederation Cup. 

If Chiefs draw at Ajax and Maritzburg United beat provincial rivals Golden Arrows, then both sides will have equal number of points and the issue of goal difference will come into play. 

As things stand, Maritzburg United enjoy a superior goal difference (+13) to Chiefs (+4), which means a draw for the Gauteang club and a win for Fadlu Davids' men would favour the KwaZulu Natal outfit.

In case Maritzburg finish above Chiefs on the log and go on to win the Nedbank Cup final next weekend, then the Naturena-based side will automatically qualify for the continental competition. 

Should Davids' men fail in their quest to finish third, then all is not lost they can still seal their passage to the Caf Confed Cup with a win over Free State Stars at the Cape Town Stadium on May 19. 

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