Pirates-Sundowns showdown

The soccer action is hotting up as the business end of the season approaches with a top-of-the-table clash at Soccer City tonight plus four Champions League matches and a carryover Soccer 13, and then onto the weekend with the Nedbank Cup round of 16 and four cash-added TAB soccer bets, as well as a guaranteed R17.5-million Soccer 13 jackpot if there's only one outright winner!

- By Mark Gleeson

Brayan Leon's brace carried Mamelodi Sundowns to a 2-0 victory over MC Algiers last Saturday and into the knockout stages of the CAF Champions League.

(Photo: BackpagePix)

It is only a few matches past the halfway mark of the local league season and probably too early to call tonight's top-of-the-table clash at Soccer City a title decider. But if there is to be a winner between hosts Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, they will stand a good chance to go on and take the Betway Premiership title.

In recent years, every time Pirates have threatened Sundowns' dominance in the league, they have been slapped back down again. The Buccaneers have had the better of Downs in cup action, but in the league the long running champions have not encountered any real resistance.