AmaZulu FC will be eager to get their Betway Premiership top-four bid back on track when they host Richards Bay at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Friday.
Kick-off is at 7:30 pm CAT.
Usuthu’s stretched their winless run to four matches in the league when they were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Chippa United away on 29 March and it was also their third defeat in a row.
Despite the defeat, AmaZulu remain seventh in the Betway Premiership standings – four points behind sixth-placed Polokwane City and three points above 10th-placed Golden Arrows.
“We were supposed to beat Chippa [in the last game] to consolidate our position. We’re in the top eight, but if you look at the past four games we have played, you look at the goals we have conceded, they are identical,” AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane said.
“We could have done better. So, now we’re putting ourselves under pressure because we gave Chippa a lifeline to get closer to us. You understand what I’m saying? So, the next game, if you don’t win, then we’re out of the top eight.
“So, though our target is position four, it seems like those chances are fading because we keep hurting ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Richards Bay continued their inconsistency in the league when they suffered a 3-1 loss to Polokwane City away on 30 March and it was also their second defeat in their last three games.
As a result, the Natal Rich Boys are occupying the 13th spot in the Betway Premiership standings – two points above the relegation zone and three points behind their KwaZulu-Natal rivals, Arrows.
“Looking at the ways things are down there at the bottom of the league, we cannot be naive and run away from it,” Richards Bay coach Ronnie Gabriel said.
“We are fighting that battle for survival and we understand the dynamics that come into play for us to get out of the battle.
“We are up for the challenge and we will regroup and get better against AmaZulu and get the result at home on Friday.”
Both AmaZulu and Richards Bay have no suspension concerns coming into this KwaZulu-Natal Derby encounter.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL LEAGUE RESULTS
Season Result Scorers
2022/23 AmaZulu 0-1 Bay Hlongwa
2022/23 Bay 1-1 AmaZulu Maphathe; Qalinge
2023/24 AmaZulu 0-0 Bay
2023/24 Bay 2-1 AmaZulu Figuareido, Barns; Mulenga
2024/25 Bay 1-3 AmaZulu Mbuthuma; Human, Ighodaro, Brooks
LEAGUE RECORD (since 2022/23)
Home
P W D L GF GA
AmaZulu 2 0 1 1 0 1
Bay 3 1 1 1 4 5
Away
P W D L GF GA
AmaZulu 3 1 1 1 5 4
Bay 2 1 1 0 1 0
Total
P W D L GF GA
AmaZulu 5 1 2 2 5 5
Bay 5 2 2 1 5 5
