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PSL: Our pick of the pile

Cape Town – Kaizer Chiefs will both keep their perfect record and consolidate their position at the top of the Absa Premiership table by seeing off Platinum Stars on Wednesday, suggest the majority of Sport24’s tipsters.

Every PSL round, a panel made up of compiler Rob Houwing plus Garrin Lambley, Raymond Silinga, Earl Haupt, Wade Pretorius, Tashreeq Vardien and Maano Nekhavhambe will attempt to hit the right buttons in forecasting a trio of the most attractive games on paper.

We will keep a season-long leaderboard showing who is prospering and which wretched souls are floundering: three points for wholly correct scoreline, one for right result.

Here’s our next trio of spiciest picks ...

1. Ajax Cape Town v Wits, Tuesday 19:30, Athlone Stadium

Without exactly hitting the net with abandon, Gavin Hunt’s Wits side have snuck into third on the table with two 1-0 wins and a draw to remain unbeaten. But this is also a broader clash of high-riders because Ajax are level on points with them and in second via superior goal difference. The game is at Athlone, rather than Cape Town Stadium, so home support may just seem more vocal than at the much larger venue. A gut feel tells me the red-and-whites will nick it, spoiling Hunty’s homecoming to the Mother City ... although our group offers all outcomes.

Rob’s tip: 1-0
Garrin: 1-2
Raymond: 1-1
Earl: 2-1
Wade: 2-1
Tashreeq: 1-1
Maano: 1-0

2. Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates, Wednesday 19:30, Loftus


It’s been a pretty unsatisfactory start to the Premiership for both of these big clubs, although champions Sundowns may be coming right at a rate of knots after the way they ended Moroka Swallows’s two-match winning spree at Dobsonville a week ago. But the Sea Robbers are under special pressure to correct an unacceptable (by their standards) hit rate of two points from a possible nine thus far and lowly 13th status on the table. Under such circumstances, the favoured result among our pundits is a stalemate, although Raymond duly dons his “Brazilians” garb to suggest they’ll grab all three points in Pretoria. 

Rob: 1-1
Garrin: 1-1
Raymond: 2-1
Earl: 1-1
Wade: 1-2
Tashreeq: 2-1
Maano: 1-1

3. Platinum Stars v Kaizer Chiefs, Wednesday 19:30, Royal Bafokeng Stadium

They’ve just thumped them 3-0 in the MTN8 semis, so the Amakhosi won’t be too perturbed by the trip to Rustenburg for a swift rematch in the league, will they? That is probably why five of our seven wise men envisage a repeat outcome, even if none by such an emphatic margin this time. Victory would stretch Chiefs’ 100 percent record to four matches, although a spanner in the works is provided by Garrin (1-1) and Maano, who goes as far as to suggest a slightly upset home triumph. It’s not out of the question, as Stars currently lie fourth and haven’t lost in the Premiership yet.   

Rob: 0-1
Garrin: 1-1
Raymond: 0-2
Earl: 1-2
Wade: 1-2
Tashreeq: 1-2
Maano: 2-1

Leaderboard after three rounds:


10 - Raymond

8 - Tashreeq

7 - Maano & Rob

6 - Earl & Wade

3 - Garrin

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing

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