Chippa United will face a coachless Marumo Gallants, who are burdened by off-field issues, in their Betway Premiership match at Buffalo City Stadium in East London on Wednesday evening.
On Monday, Gallants confirmed that their head coach, Alexandre Lafitte, had been suspended with immediate effect, pending an internal disciplinary process.
Gallants’ spokesperson, Sello Nduna, said the suspension follows issues related to a failure to comply with contractual duties.
Nduna also said results were another matter that led to the decision.
“The club has also not been performing to the expected standard in recent fixtures.
“The club takes matters of governance, professionalism, and accountability seriously.
“As such, the necessary internal processes are being followed in line with the club’s policies and contractual obligations.
“Management is concerned about the team’s current poor performance and will be announcing the acting head coach in due course,” he said.
Gallants are in 14th place and are relegation-threatened.
On Sunday, they were beaten 1-0 by Durban City in Pretoria, which has them stuck on 15 points.
They will face a Chippa United team that is yet to taste defeat since the resumption of the league in January after the Africa Cup of Nations break.
Chippa‘s head coach Vusi Vilakazi wasn’t entirely upset with their goalless draw against Golden Arrows at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.
He felt it was a fair result, as both teams failed to convert their chances at stages of the game when they had momentum.
The draw means the Eastern Cape team are still unbeaten in the league in 2026.
With 12 games to go in the league, Chippa are still in contention for a top-eight spot.
They are in 13th place with 19 points and are five points behind Polokwane City, who occupy the last spot.
Chippa again showed great signs of improvement in their understanding of the Vilakazi philosophy.
They were precise in their offensive form, and their formation led to them controlling 60% of the possession.
Arrows, however, had 16 shot attempts compared to Chippa’s 12.
“I must be honest and say that it was a fair result for both teams, but I strongly feel that against Arrows we were not that consistent in what we were doing,” Vilakazi said.
“We started very well in the first half and should’ve converted at least two of our chances, but it was not meant to be.
“But towards the end I think the team faded, and Arrows were a threat towards the end of the first half, and then coming back in the second half, I think we started very well, but we couldn’t convert our chance,” he said.
Fixtures (all at 7.30pm)
Tuesday: Richards Bay vs Kaizer Chiefs, Richards Bay Stadium; Siwelele vs Stellenbosch, Free State Stadium; TS Galaxy vs Orbit College, Mbombela Stadium
Wednesday: AmaZulu vs Magesi, Princess Magogo Stadium; Chippa United vs Marumo Gallants, Buffalo City Stadium; Durban City vs Sekhukhune United, Chatsworth Stadium; Mamelodi Sundowns vs Golden Arrows, Loftus Versfeld Stadium; Polokwane vs Orlando Pirates, Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
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