The Mpheni Defenders Grounds will be the place to be on Saturday afternoon as the only ABC Motsepe League match in the Limpopo Stream between Mpheni Defenders and Maruleng Celtic will be played there.
This is an outstanding fixture as the rest of the teams will resume their league programme next weekend. The match should have been played at the same venue about two months ago, but Defenders were busy with their Nedbank Cup campaign at the time.
A quick glance at the two teams' track records shows that Celtic will be lucky if they manage to hold Defenders to a draw. Celtic are one of the three teams fighting for survival and are currently in third position from the bottom of the log, with eight points from seven outings. Should they manage to beat Defenders on Saturday, Celtic will move a step up the log.
Mpheni Defenders may be in eighth place on the log, but their chances of promotion are good. A win against Celtic on Saturday will push them up to second place. Defenders have managed to collect 12 points from the seven matches they have played so far. Vondwe XI Bullets are currently leading the pack with 15 points. Defenders have lost only one match to date. Their solitary defeat was against Nkowankowa Continentals, to whom they lost 1-2 at Nkowankowa Stadium outside Tzaneen on Saturday, 02 November.
The head coach of Defenders, Mr Sydwell Phuravhathu, is adamant that nothing will stop them from humiliating Celtic on Saturday. Celtic will be in for a big surprise if they fail to contain the likes of Gift Nemutandani and former Black Leopards sharpshooter Rophney Hlongwane. Defenders are the defending league champions.