Top 5 upcoming sporting events of the weekend


By Neo Poho

With the Soweto Derby, the Madrid Derby, the CAF Champions League and the T20 Women's World Cup final, the last weekend of February surely promises to be an exciting one, with that said, here is what you can look forward to in the world of sport this weekend.

1.Soweto Derby 
The 117th edition of the Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on Saturday the 25th of February at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg is the big talking point across the country and some parts of the world as football fans are expecting a derby that will be full of goals, drama, exciting moments and ultimately victory for either one of the two sides.

Both sides head into the derby full of confidence and enthusiasm to perform well on the day as both bragging rights and three points are up for grabs for the two Soweto giants who are eyeing a CAF Champions League spot by finishing second on the DSTV Premiership table when the league concludes in May.

Chiefs unfortunately head into the encounter at the back of a disappointing 3-2 loss to Golden Arrows over the past weekend that saw them lose their 8th game of the current DSTV Premiership campaign and stay on 28 points after 20 matches so far however their coach Arthur Zwane seems to be unfazed by those statistics.

Speaking at the Soweto Derby press conference on Thursday afternoon Zwane mentioned that the inconsistency at Chiefs is due to a numerous challenges the team has faced along the journey of this season's league campaign.

"We are obviously not happy about where we are after 20 games in the league but we have equally had our fair share of challenges along the way, our injury list for one has been one of the huge factor contributing to the inconsistency of the side, sometimes we experience unforeseen circumstances that also hinder our progress as a team but overall I believe we have done our best and we can only build on from here," said Zwane.

Zwane will of course be looking for a better performance in the derby from his players as Chiefs seek to breakthrough into the top 4 position in the league to set the right tone for the rest of the remaining fixtures in a bid to secure the CAF Champions League spot.

Meanwhile Orlando Pirates will be without head coach Jose Riviero on Saturday when the two teams collide, Riviero is still serving his two-match suspension that he received a fortnight ago when Pirates were in action against All Stars FC in the Nedbank Cup last 32 at the Bidvest Stadium.

Pirates however, managed to defeat Maritzburg United last week Friday at the Orlando Stadium without the services of Riviero and the 47 year old mentor has mentioned that his absence from the bench will not affect the team at all.

"Unfortunately I am not going to be there on the bench where I am supposed to be," said Riviero at Thursday's Soweto Derby press conference.

"It is not a big problem for the players nor anyone else nowadays, I have a fantastic support staff that I can call on and the beautiful thing is that our players here at Pirates are used to working with all of our coaches so I don't think on Saturday anything will be different,"

Riviero furthermore mentioned that the most important people in a team is the players on the field, "The 11 players who will be facing Kaizer Chiefs on the day are the people we should be concerned about not me, so I think they are the people that needs our support and we will be there to provide the support to them so come Saturday we will be ready," Riviero added.

Not only will Pirates be missing Riviero on Saturday but Central defenders Nkosinathi Sibisi and Nigerian Olisa Ndah are nursing injuries and are unlikely to make the squad for duty on Saturday while Richard Ofori is still struggling with injury too.

With that short glimpse of what might happen on Saturday, will Amakhosi extend their dominance over their arch-rivals or will Pirates rewrite the script at the FNB Stadium? 

Whether you will be at the stadium or watching from home, Kick-off on Saturday afternoon is expected to be at 15:30.

2.Mamelodi Sundowns head to Egypt for a clash with Al Ahly

Mamelodi Sundowns will be looking to make it 3 wins out of 3 when they take on African giants Al Ahly in group B's CAF Champions League clash on Saturday night at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo.

Having defeated Al-Hilal and Coton Sport so far in the group, Sundowns know that a victory against Al Ahly will set them on course for a top spot finish with the reverse fixtures still to be played.

Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena has mentioned that the goal is to finish the group on top, "The focus is to get close as possible to 10 points so we can get ourselves as close as possible to the quarterfinals, we have set an objective to finish first in the group and we will do that by respecting everybody in the group," Mokwena said.

Meanwhile Sundowns' opponents Al Ahly head into the clash on Saturday after a shock 1-0 defeat to Al-Hilal last weekend in their opening group stage encounter.

3.Madrid Derby is on the horizon
Real Madrid will welcome Atlético Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in the latest edition of the Madrid Derby on Saturday night.

Real head into the clash having lost just one of their last 13 games against Atlético de Madrid in LaLiga winning 6 and also drawing 6 while Atlético have lost in their last three away trips against Real Madrid.

The two sides also head into the LaLiga clash with Real Madrid being the hot favourites after their 5-2 victory over Liverpool in midweek's UEFA Champions League at Anfield.

Carlo Ancelotti's men are also just 8 from log leaders Barcelona and a victory against their rivals will keep them within touching distance of the Catalan giants who were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night by Manchester United.

Unfortunately Real Madrid will be without the services of David Alaba and Rodrygo who both got injured during the 5-2 triumph against Liverpool in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, with Alaba having a hamstring problem, the Austrian left footer could be sidelined for a month while Rodrygo is expected to be out for 10 days.

Meanwhile in the Atlético Madrid camp, Rodrigo de Paul has picked up a muscle injury that has ruled him out of Saturday's derby against Real Madrid.

De Paul joins left-back Sergio Reguilon who has a muscle tear and is also on the sidelines for this weekend’s key clash at the Santiago Bernabéu, a rematch of last month’s controversial Copa del Rey quarterfinal that saw Real Madrid eliminate Atlético from the competition.

With Memphis Depay still struggling with some soreness, Atlético Madrid' head coach Diego Simeone will have a lot of thinking to do if Depay is not available and Yannick Carrasco still having a sore throat.

With a spot for the top 4 finish to fight for, Atlético will seek to be on the front foot as early as the first minute if they want to beat Real in-front of their home crowd while Real Madrid will look to continue where they left off during the week and humble they city rivals to keep the pressure on Barcelona at the top.

4.T20 World Cup final.

Australia will know on Friday night who is going to be their opponents in Sunday's Women's T20 World Cup at the Newlands Cricket Ground.

This is after the Australian team defeated India  by five runs in the 1st semifinal at the Newlands Cricket Ground on Thursday afternoon.

The victory means that Australia have won qualified for their seventh successive Women's T20 World Cup final and will be aiming for a third straight title and sixth overall when they face either 2009 champions England or host nation South Africa in Sunday's final.

The second semifinal between South Africa and England is set to be played at the Newlands Cricket Ground too on Friday afternoon with the host nation South Africa looking to reach their maiden T20 World Cup final.

5.World Rugby Sevens heads to Los Angeles

The latest round of the men rugby 7's action is set to take place in Los Angeles on the 25th to the 26th of February 2023.

Standings leaders New Zealand seem to be getting better with every tournament but with five stars missing for this stop, they may struggle to maintain the form that saw them win in at the Sydney sevens.

The shaky presence of New Zealand heading into the LA sevens means that teams like South Africa, Fiji, Samoa and Australia might have a chance to dethrone the All Blacks on top and enjoy some supremacy for a while.

South Africa who are sitting comfortably on the second spot in the standings will look to take inspiration from their great performance in Sydney that saw them finish second in the tournament while Samoa are also a team to look out for due to their improved consistency this season.

With a Paris 2024 Olympic automatic qualification for the top 4 teams up for grabs, the LA sevens series surely promises to be an exhilarating one that will keep you at the edge of your seat whether you are watching from home or at the stadium.

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