After all the big teams had a good start to the Premiership season, Soccer Laduma analyzes whether Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs stand a chance against reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Mamelodi Sundowns, as the defending champions, after a blip in the MTN8, have made a perfect start to their league season, with three victories in as many matches.
Sundowns, unlike in the previous seasons, have been followed by Orlando Pirates, who have also won their first three matches.
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Kaizer Chiefs, who appear more rejuvenated and better structured under new head coach Nasreddine Nabi, have won two out of three games, with their loss coming against rivals Sundowns.
With all things being equal, the average age of squads tends to play a role in a team that will ultimately be crowned as champions.
The Brazilians seemed to have had the right balance in terms of the average age of their squad, after winning the title with an average age of 27 in the 2023/24 term.
According to FootballObservatory.com, a statistical website, "Clubs that are more competitive have older squads. Our analysis suggests that the optimal average age of squad members is between 26 and 27."
However, Masandawana's average age in their current squad has reduced significantly, now at 25,5 and with that, rivals Pirates and Chiefs would be hoping the current Sundowns squad is not perfectly experienced to give them the dominance they used to enjoy.
In as much as it takes experience to win the league title, it is also difficult to win titles with a younger squad, according to the statistics website.
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As it stands, the average age at Pirates is 25,6 while Chiefs have an average age of 26.
"In accordance with our findings, we can state that in order to achieve sustained success, it is important for clubs to have as many players who did not celebrate their 27th birthday than footballers over this age threshold."
With all Sundowns, Pirates and Chiefs average age in their squads not reaching at least 27 - that can only be a recipe for the title race to go down to the wire, as opposed to the Brazilians' dominance at least in the last four years, where they boasted enough experience in the squad to maintain consistency.
