The Betway Premiership puts seven matches on the board on Saturday, and the way our fans have spread their predictions tells you exactly where the attention is.
Orlando Pirates against Kaizer Chiefs at 15:30 has eight predictions in already, the joint busiest match of the round. ESPN reports the derby is at FNB Stadium and will be Fernando da Cruz's first in charge of Chiefs. The numbers either side of it are lopsided. Pirates are second on 22 points from eight with a goal difference of plus 18, the best in the division, and our desk has them on seven wins in nine. Chiefs are fifth on 14 from eight, plus five, with one win in their last five. On paper that is a gap. In this fixture, paper has been wrong plenty of times, which is precisely why eight people have already committed a score.
What is more interesting is the match nobody is touching. Mamelodi Sundowns host Durban City at 20:15 and only four fans have predicted it. Sundowns lead on 23 points from nine, one clear of Pirates with a game more played, and they have drawn their last two. If Pirates win the derby and Sundowns drop more points at home, the top of this league changes hands on Saturday night. That is the match with the title implication, and it is the one our community is leaving alone.
The rest of the card: Milford, fourth on 15 points with a plus three goal difference, host Sekhukhune at 15:30 with eight predictions. Stellenbosch take on Chippa United, who the desk has with four goals all season, at 18:00. AmaZulu, third on 19 points, meet Golden Arrows and their three goals in seven matches. Polokwane City host TS Galaxy. Kruger United against Richards Bay at 20:15 has just three predictions, which is a shame, because a match between a minus eight goal difference and a minus 10 is where exact scores tend to be won by the people willing to think about it.
On the Betway Premiership leaderboard, Philani sits on 96 points, with Siyabonga second on 28 and Thabang third on 26. That is not a lead you close with the derby alone. It is closed by predicting the matches everyone else skips, and Saturday has three of those.
If you only fill in one more scoreline tonight, make it Sundowns against Durban City. Four predictions means four people stand to gain on the field, and the top of the table may well swing on it.