Philani has 96 points and the rest of Prediz has 81 between them. Today is the day to close it

There is a leaderboard, and then there is what Philani is doing to it.

The Betway Premiership standings on Prediz read Philani 96, Siyabonga 28, Thabang 26, Itumeleng 18, Tshepiso 9. Add the four chasers together and you get 81. The leader is still 15 clear of all of them combined. That is not a lead built on one lucky weekend. That is somebody predicting every round and getting a decent share of them right.

He has the MTN8 board too, on 12 points, with Unathi the only other name on it.

What makes Saturday interesting is that it is the one day this month where a gap like that can actually move. Seven Betway Premiership matches, starting with Milford against Sekhukhune United and Orlando Pirates against Kaizer Chiefs at 15:30, then Stellenbosch against Chippa United, AmaZulu against Golden Arrows and Polokwane City against TS Galaxy at 18:00, and Mamelodi Sundowns against Durban City plus Kruger United against Richards Bay closing it out at 20:15. Seven chances to score. Nobody closes a 68 point gap in an afternoon, but the gap between second and fifth is 19 points, and that one is very much in play.

The fan numbers so far suggest where people are spending their attention. Eight have predicted the Soweto derby, eight on Milford against Sekhukhune, eight on Stellenbosch against Chippa. Six on AmaZulu against Arrows, six on Polokwane against Galaxy, four on Sundowns against Durban City and only three on Kruger United against Richards Bay. If you want ground on the chasers, the thin fixtures are where it is, because fewer people are there to get them right.

Friday night should sharpen the point. Seven fans predicted Marumo Gallants against Siwelele, three of them took a 0-1 away win, and the 15th placed side won 3-2. Nobody got the score exactly and only one got the result. Points on Prediz do not come from picking the obvious ones, they come from being right when most people are not.

Twenty of us are playing, three joined in the last week. The board is not so crowded that a good Saturday goes unnoticed.

For today: the two 20:15 kickoffs have the fewest predictions on them. Kruger United against Richards Bay is 16th against a side on one win in five, which is exactly the kind of match most fans skip and the leader does not.