With a place in the top eight up for still up for grabs, the Premiership encounter between Bloem Celtic and Kaizer Chiefs at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday promises to be an intriguing affair.

With a place in the top eight up for still up for grabs, the Premiership encounter between Bloem Celtic and Kaizer Chiefs at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday promises to be an intriguing affair.

 

Both sides have suffered seasons they would rather forget, but for now still have a job to do in secure a place in the lucrative top eight of South Africa's premier club competition.

 

Chiefs, for their part, have been much improved since appointing Ernst Middendorp to replace the much maligned Giovanni Solinas in December.

 

However, they have still struggled to get consistent results with their last six results, in all competitions, reading draw, win, draw, loss, win, draw.

 

Amakhosi are in the driver's seat for a place in the top eight, currently sitting seventh 38 points, but they need to stay vigilant with Celtic just four points behind them in ninth.

 

The hosts, on the other hand, just broke a horrendous run of seven fixtures without a win in all competitions with dramatic last-minute 2-1 win over Polokwane last time out.

 

Fans of the club will be hoping that result represents a turning point in their fortunes this season and fuels a late push into the top half of the league, starting with the match against Chiefs.

 

Bloem Celtic will be without the services of the injured Given Mashikinya, while Chiefs have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match. However, Willard Katsande and Siyabonga Ngezana are both at risk of a suspension and are just a yellow card each away from a one-match ban.