Orlando Pirates may have momentum on their side ahead of the first crowd-attended Soweto derby since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a look at the head-to-head statistics suggests history could favour Kaizer Chiefs.
Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs head-to-head stats
The two sides meet for the 82nd time across all competitions in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era, per Swisher Foot, with Chiefs edging Pirates with 27 wins.
The Buccaneers, by virtue of their dominance in the cup version of the Soweto derby, have caught up in recent years, bagging a total of 25 wins.
As the table below shows, however, in the PSL, AmaKhosi tend to claim the bragging rights with 16 wins from 52 games, compared to Pirates’ 12.
| Team | League | Nedbank Cup | Telkom bvbCup | MTN 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixtures | 52 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 82 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | 16 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 27 |
| Orlando Pirates | 12 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 25 |
| Draw | 24 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 32 |
Moreover, history suggests that while the Buccaneers head to the fixture with momentum from their performance in the 2022 MTN8, Chiefs will be favourites to secure all three points.
Here is a look at the last five Soweto derby matches, where Kaizer Chiefs claimed victory on four occasions.
- 9 November 2019: Chiefs 3 – 2 Pirates
- 29 February 2020: Pirates 0 – 1 Chiefs
- 21 March 2021: Chiefs 1 – 0 Pirates
- 30 January 2021: Pirates 2 – 1 Chiefs
- 5 March 2022: Pirates 1 – 2 Chiefs
Here’s a look at what each coach said about the 2022 Soweto derby:
Arthur Zwane, Kaizer Chiefs
“Yes, as much as we want to win, they also want to win, but I don’t think it’s going to be the decider [on which team is going to be serious challenger for the league]. There’s a lot at stake and we want to go out there and make sure we also give ourselves that confidence we need.”
Jose Riveiro, Orlando Pirates
“To be honest the points are very important we need the points, we want to end the first part of the season as high as possible and for that we need to collect three points.”
