Ajax face must-win Wits clash in relegation battle

Cape Town - Ajax Cape Town face a must-win Absa Premiership clash against champions Bidvest Wits with the Cape side fighting to survive the drop in a relegation battle.

Muhsin Ertugral's side face a tough battle when they host a resurgent Wits at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night desperately needing three points in their relegation fight.

The Urban Warriors will hope that home advantage can work in their favour again after beating SuperSport United in the Mother City on February 28.

Since then, Ertugral's side have lost their last two away games against Bloemfontein Celtic and AmaZulu. They are at the bottom of the league table on 24 points with four matches left to play.

Ajax face an uphill battle to stay in the league with the Tendai Ndoro saga hanging over their head and face the possibility of losing a further six points for fielding their Zimbabwean attacker.

Orlando Pirates and Polokwane City both played under protest against Ajax which means both teams could be awarded the three points in these games.

This could have a dramatic effect on both ends of the Absa Premiership with Ajax just three points ahead of last-placed Platinum Stars with Pirates four points off leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

Ertugral remains upbeat and highlighted his team needing to gather momentum in the final stages of the season.

"We need to win against Bidvest Wits and we are fully focused on doing just that. Our record at home is good – we need to take advantage of that on Wednesday. It is vital that we pick up some sort of momentum."

Kick-off is at 19:30.

Absa Premiership standings:

1    Mamelodi Sundowns   25    15    4    6    41    21    20    49
2    Orlando Pirates           25    12    9    4    33    23    10    45
3    Maritzburg United       26    10    9    7    31    18    13    39
4    Kaizer Chiefs              26    9    12    5    21    18    3    39
5    Free State Stars         26    10    8    8    25    25    0    38
6    Cape Town City          26    10    5    11    24    25    -1    35
7    Chippa United            26    7    12    7    24    23    1    33
8    Baroka FC                 26    7    12    7    30    32    -2    33
9    Bloemfontein Celtic    26    8    9    9    22    29    -7    33
10    Bidvest Wits            24    8    8    8    23    25    -2    32
11    AmaZulu                 26    7    11    8    24    29    -5    32
12    Golden Arrows         26    6    13    7    29    29    0    31
13    Polokwane City        26    6    12    8    28    31    -3    30
14    SuperSport United   25    6    9    10    20    27    -7    27
15    Ajax Cape Town       25    6    6    13    22    27    -5    24
16    Platinum Stars        26    4    9    13    17    32    -15    21