Revealed! Weaknesses identified in Miguel Cardoso's side as Orlando Pirates are urged to take advantage of 'beatable' Mamelodi Sundowns' flaws

Orlando Pirates last won the Premier Soccer League in the 2011/12 season.

For more than a decade, they have struggled to win the championship again. However, they have won five domestic Cups since the arrival of Jose Riveiro at the beginning of the 2022/23 season.

In the PSL race, they have managed to finish second - behind Mamelodi Sundowns, in as many campaigns.

However, Sundowns have a new coach in Miguel Cardoso who has replaced Manqoba Mngqithi and the Portuguese tactician is a newcomer in SA football.

In the ongoing edition, Pirates have shown massive improvements across all competitions.

They became the first team in Mzansi to win MTN8 for the third consecutive time, a competition Sundowns fell in the semi-final hurdle after losing to Stellenbosch.

Both teams are in the group stage of the Caf Champions League but the main battle is in the PSL.

Just like Sundowns, Pirates have won seven out of the eight league games that they have played.

Bucs legend Eugene Zwane is convinced the gap has been closed but not fully.

“Everyone wants to dethrone Sundowns at the top, and we’ve seen this season that Sundowns is a beatable team,” he told FARPost.

“What counts in their favour [Sundowns ] is the depth in their squad; they don’t get affected with suspensions that much, they don’t get affected by injuries that much and loss of form. They can replace a top player with another top player.

“But Pirates is closing that gap from player to player. The coaches have managed to assemble a strong team that has a lot of depth and quality in every position," Zwane continued.

“I don’t think Orlando Pirates are now affected by injuries, suspensions, or loss of form in their play. Therefore, they are closing the gap on Sundowns. They should just be consistent in their performances, and then success is going to come.”

Pirates are enjoying stability in the technical bench while that is not the case with Sundowns who recently fired Mngqithi in favour of Cardoso.

Riveiro should capitalise on that as well as add a few new faces in the January transfer window to stand a chance of ousting Sundowns who have won the last seven editions.