Orlando Pirates hoping to stop the rot against Golden Arrows

The Buccaneers are currently placed eighth in the league standings, while Golden Arrows are above them in sixth place on goal difference after 15 games with 19 points.

In their last three league matches Pirates have lost against - Cape Town City (2-1), Mamelodi Sundowns (2-0) and crashed 1-0 against Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby.

Bucs coach Jose Riveiro has not given up on this year's league campaign just yet and believes they are still within striking distance of league leaders Sundowns, who are 21 points ahead of Pirates in the standings.

"We are all going through different moments in the season - good and bad. That's why the winner will be the one that managed to do it better," Riveiro told media.

"At the moment there is a team (Sundowns) that is getting an advantage over the other competitors and it's going to be tough for some to get close to that.

"But are we giving up? Never! No one! I don't think it's only Pirates that's not giving up. What we know about this team is that we are competitive people."

Good news for Pirates is that they will have midfielder Goodman Mosele available for selection. Mosele is seen as the missing cog in the Pirates midfield following his injury earlier this season.

Before the injury ruled Mosele out, he had built a formidable partnership with Miguel Timm in midfield. Another player that is regarded as a live-wire in the Bucs midfield is Deon Hotto, who looked useful in their last outing.

Arrows head to the encounter with Pirates feeling rather confident having beaten in-form SuperSport United 2-1 in their last outing. Prior to that they lost 2-0 against Chiefs after beating Maritzburg United 2-0.

Arrows do have players who have been scoring during the first half of the league campaign - Pule Mmodi and Nduduzo Sibiya, who both have four goals each, while Knox Mutizwa played well in their last outing scoring against SuperSport.

In recent head-to-head meetings, Pirates beat Arrows 2-0 on 18 October 2022 and prior to that two matches ended up in 0-0 draws.