Top 5 upcoming sporting events of the weekend


By Neo Poho

Its a new month and the first weekend of the month of March kicks off with the original Soweto Derby between Swallows FC and Orlando Pirates at the Dobsonvile Stadium while Liverpool welcome Manchester United and the Formula 1 is back.

1.Swallows FC and Orlando Pirates kick start match-day 22 of the DSTV Premiership

Swallows FC will welcome Orlando Pirates at the Dobsonville Stadium on Friday night in match-day 22 of the DSTV Premiership.

The two teams head into the all important Soweto Derby with Pirates coming from another Soweto Derby loss last weekend, losing 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs.

Despite the loss Pirates legend Tebogo Moloi has said Pirates need to forget about last weekend's result and focus on the next match which is Swallows FC.

"It is now water under the bridge, I know the loss was painful because it came at a time when they boys wanted to rectify their mistakes from the previous derby loss last year but unfortunately another mistake haunted them," Moloi said.

Despite the loss against Chiefs, Pirates will be happy to welcome back coach Jose Riviero who returns to the touchline for the Buccaneers after being sidelined due to serving his 2 match suspension against Maritzburg United and Kaizer Chiefs for a red card he received during Pirates' Nedbank Cup clash with All Stars last month.

The return of Riviero comes at a time when Pirates will be without captain Innocent Maela who also picked up a red card against Kaizer Chiefs last weekend however, Moloi doesn't think that will have a negative impact on the team.

"It is good that the coach is back even though they will be missing their captain but a team like Pirates has players that can step up and cover for a player that is not available,"

The Buccaneers will look to rise to the occasion and potentially get a victory against a very difficult Swallows side that is fighting to move out of the danger zone in the league.

Swallows won 2-1 last weekend against Chippa United to move to 14th on the log just 3 points away from the relegation zone, the match at the Dobsonville Stadium is expected to kick-off at 19:30.

2.Liverpool and Manchester United continue with their rivalry

Manchester United visit Liverpool on Sunday looking to keep within touching distance of the top two sides in the English Premier League.

United who won the Carabao Cup last weekend defeating Newcastle 2-0 at Wembley still have a chance of pulling another surprise by winning the English Premier League if their current form is anything to go by.

Erik Ten Hag's men are unbeaten in 11 matches in all competitions and they will be seeking to do it 12 games against a struggling Liverpool side that languishing on the 6th spot in the league.

Talisman Marcus Rashford has been described as a major threat by Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold with the right back stating Rashford is the man to watch ahead of the encounter.

"It will be difficult to stop Rashford on Sunday, he is a player that has a lot of weapons in his arsenal and we need to be alert of him, he is skillful, he has the pace and he can also score," Alexander-Arnold said.

The last time Liverpool met Manchester United at Anfield, it was a rampant win, two goals from Mohamed Salah sealed a 4-0 win which meant at the time, they went top of the league. 

Now the tables have turned and Liverpool are desperately fighting for a top four finish to book their spot in the UEFA Champions League next season while United have already won the Carabao Cup and they are still in contention for the FA Cup, Europa League and the league title.

The match at Anfield on Sunday is expected to kick-off at 18:30.

3.The Gauteng Women in Sports Awards is in full swing

All roads will lead to the Kyalami Country Club on Saturday the 4th of March 2023 for the 3rd annual Gauteng Women in Sports Awards.

The Gauteng Women in Sports Awards were first established in 2018 in Ekurhuleni and have since expanded to various districts in Gauteng due to the high intensity of women that are doing exceptionally well in various sporting codes in the province.

Founder of futballing girls which is the organisation behind the awards, Moonira Ramathula said that the awards seek to celebrate the hard work that women put in their respective sporting codes and also celebrate the deserving personalities in some of the special categories like the Team of the year and the Media official of the year award.

The Sportswoman of the year award which is going to be contested by Andile Dlamini, Thobile Msizazwe, Tiane de Bod, Marga Cummings, Nokwanda Khumalo and Dane Roets is an award that recognises a sportswoman who has been exceptional and has excelled in her respective district, province and national too during the period under review.

Meanwhile the sport journalist of the year award is dedicated to a journalist who promotes women in sport content on print media and other digital media platforms.

4.The 2023 season of the Formula 1 starts in Bahrain

After a lengthy break stretching back to November 2022, the Formula 1 returns to action on the 5th of March with a twilight fixture at the Bahrain International Circuit. 

The race will offer a solid picture of the pecking order in the second year of F1's ground-effect era, after Red Bull dominated last year's fight with Max Verstappen easing past his closest rival Lewis Hamilton for another championship crown.

Red Bull will be looking to dominate again this year with paddock insiders suggesting it has an edge over both Ferrari and Mercedes once again.

Although the paddock insiders have suggested that Red Bull might come out victorious again, it is not going to be an easy task considering the significant changes Ferrari has implemented to its team structure, bringing in new talent and streamlining its operations to improve performance.

Carlos Sainz Jr will partner with Charles Leclerc for a third season, with the duo working well together since 2021.

Meanwhile Mercedes has equally made a couple of changes too in a bid to dethrone Red Bull and potentially conquer the Formula 1 stage again.

The team has made some significant changes, including bringing in George Russell to replace Valtteri Bottas last year, and there is a lot of anticipation surrounding how he and Lewis Hamilton will fare together in their second season.

If Mercedes can bounce back and challenge for the top spot, it will add another dimension to the battle between Ferrari and Red Bull, and we could be in for one of the most exciting seasons of F1 in recent years.

5.The United Rugby Championship is reaching its end

Week 15 of the United Rugby Championship will see some mouth-watering clashes take center stage as the Stormers will welcome the Sharks at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon while the Blue Bulls will entertain the Emirates Lions at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday evening in another South African derby.

The Stormers will look to defeat the Sharks in order to cement their second spot in the table while the Bulls will look to penetrate into the top 4 with a victory against the Lions at home.

However, the action starts on Friday night with Munster hosting the Scarlets while Glasgow Warriors will entertain Zebre in the later encounter on Friday night.

Article Tags

Football

Motorsport

Rugby

Gauteng Women in Sports Awards

Cancel

    Most Read