GOAL's 2025/26 season predictions for Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and the rest of the PSL teams as revealed by our Crystal Ball

As we elbowed each other out of the way and gazed into the sphere, we each saw a different future before us. For our Managing Editor, he saw a world where Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie got increasingly agitated as Siwelele FC plummeted like a stone down the PSL log. Others had a much more mundane version of excitement with Chiefs CAF Confederation Cup adventures, Gavin Hunt's resurrection at Durban City and how Abdeslam Ouaddou adapts at Pirates, having various GOAL staffers enraptured.

Three futures were revealed, which will be very unpopular with every Sundowns, Chiefs, and Pirates fans out there.

Both Celine and Sandile saw Miguel Cardoso failing to take The Brazilians up a level, with the latter seeing the Portuguese coach leaving Chloorkop before the end of the season.

Chiefs new striker, Flavio Silva, was in the firing line next, with many seeing a future full of flops rather than goals. Kiplagat went even further and claimed he saw a future where no Amakhosi player got into double figures for goals by the time May 2026 rolled round.

And finally, to Pirates, where Thabang saw comparisons with The Bucs signing spree to how Sir Alex Ferguson refreshed his squads and saw a future where buying 11 plus players is actually bad for a squad's ability to win things.

Several members of the team clearly gazed into the future together as they all nominated Siwelele FC as the surprise package next season. Some combination of myth, romance and a ready-made fan base seems to have made the crystal ball forget Bloem's newest idols have an inherited squad that was almost relegated last season and will be playing their home games in a different city from where all the myth and romance reside.

Other notable mentions went to Durban City (smart signings and Gavin Hunt at the helm) and Richards Bay (Rich Boyz be rich, yo).

One optimistic Chiefs fan claimed they saw Flavio Silva banging in goals for fun, but the rest of us saw very different players taking local football by (surprise) storm.

Thabiso Monyane was spotted, not only proving his doubters wrong at Chiefs, but doing enough to force his way into Hugo Broos' 2025 AFCON squad.

There was also a lone sighting of Brandon Petersen turning his fortunes around between the sticks as Chiefs' defence finally tightened up.

It was almost unequivocal... the talented youngster must go and prove himself in Europe as he has nothing left to learn in Mzansi. Also, as a bonus for this prediction, it would make his dad a very happy man.

But leaving aside what we saw looking deep into the Orbuculum (fancy way of saying crystal ball - Editor), there's the small matter of would Pirates be risking their prized asset in pre-season if a European team had shown serious interest in acquiring the 20-year-old?

Our fortune-telling ball seemed to show the future strictly according to the viewer's club allegiance, which is worryingly biased when you want to nail your predictions with 100% accuracy.

The poor, deluded Chiefs fans saw an incredibly rosy future filled with goals, victories and silverware, while the rest of us saw... the same old goal-shy, porous defence, nowhere near Top 4 material we saw last season.

Only time will tell, we suppose, but even the Chiefs fans amongst us believe they need another proven goal scorer for their wonderful visions of a triumphant future to come true.

The future is clear: the newly promoted sides, Orbit College and Durban City, are going to struggle to avoid the straight-back-down trap of the top tier.

Somebody, who shall remain nameless, claimed they saw Polokwane City dropping out of the league after losing their most influential players, Oswin Appollis and Manuel Sapunga, but we're not sure if that was genuine or whether they had accidentally put ayahuasca in their coffee.

At last, we get to the most important prediction of them all!

The overwhelming majority all saw the future the same way and for the same reason: Mamelodi Sundowns are too good, too strong and too rich.

There were a couple of foggy sightings in the crystal ball of Orlando Pirates lofting the trophy, but the sightings weren't clear enough to conclusively say whether it was the PSL trophy, or one of the domestic cups.

In terms of the rest of the top four it wasn't a case of gazing into the future as it was re-living the past as Stellenbosch and Sekhukhune are most likely to fill third and fourth again.