AFCON will give Orlando Pirates advantage in PSL title race but Mamelodi Sundowns will 'suffer the most'

With only two points separating Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League title race after the first round, a tight battle has been predicted.

The Sea Robbers were in good form when the league took the break, and while Downs were not consistent, there is only a little gap between them. 

With eight players in Morocco for Pirates and five for Sundowns, it means their key stars will be active during the break, and that can translate into a good thing for both sides.

However, former Mamelodi Sundowns winger Lucas 'Makhokhoba' Sebona believes Bucs will benefit from the AFCON break because their players are younger.

"Definitely, there will be some changes when the PSL resumes, but Pirates and Sundowns will continue to dominate because most of their players are active in Morocco," Sebona told KickOff.

"Yes, it will catch up with them, but they have depth in their squads. The team that will suffer the most between the two is Sundowns. Pirates might escape because they are using a lot of youngsters.

"Youngsters can recover very quickly from fatigue. Sundowns have lost most of their star players; they are old now. It may take time for them to recover," he added. 

Kaizer Chiefs do not have a representative in the Bafana setup, and Sebona has argued they, alongside other PSL clubs, will struggle to catch up. 

"The rest of the teams will have to start from scratch and pick up their match fitness. Especially, we Africans celebrate Christmas holidays too much. It's harder if you don't have self-discipline," he explained.

"Especially the teams without sponsors; they are going to suffer the most. The only teams that are going to survive this period are Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Orlando Pirates due to the facilities they own. Their bosses will get them competitive friendlies," he added.

Although Sebona believes Pirates will benefit from the AFCON draw, former Chiefs and Bafana Bafana defender David Kannemeyer is of the contrary opinion; the Sea Robbers will not beat Sundowns to the title.

“I don’t think Pirates will knock Sundowns off. In recent seasons, they have been starting slow, but they will win the league because of the depth they have in their squad,” Kannemeyer said.

“Sundowns have so much depth in their squad, and it’s not even funny because that makes them dominate. In my opinion, they will win the league again. I don’t think Pirates can stop them.

"I don’t think Sundowns need to sign players in January. They have enough firepower already. If they are to buy, maybe it should just be one player to bolster just one area, which the coach [Miguel Cardoso] feels needs some addition," he added.

“But I think at the moment they have too much firepower.” 

Head coach Miguel Cardoso has been under pressure due to the inconsistent performance by the Tshwane giants. Some have argued that Masandawana should part ways with him to succeed, but Bennet Mnguni, an ex-Sundowns star, said sacking the coach will be a bad move.

“We cannot change the coach. Remember. If we change the coach, then the whole system is collapsing. We would rather keep the coach until the end of the season," Mnguni said.

"We cannot see, you know, sometimes as supporters, what the coach is seeing at the training field; we are not there. You can only judge him by the way the boys are performing.

“We want to win each and every game because we deserve to win, because we have players now, but you cannot only have players. You must have even the supporters to support the players to perform well," he added.

“It looks like now there is a division. Players are doing their job; the coach is doing their job. Supporters, they're supposed to do their job. Leave everything to the management. Remember, they are the ones working with them 24 hours. They know what the challenges are that are coming across, what they are facing."