DStv Premiership is back! Sundowns resume campaign against title-hungry Pirates

The DStv Premiership gets under way on Friday with five mouth-watering clashes after a six-week hiatus due to the FIFA World Cup.

Below is a brief wrap of five fixtures taking place on Friday:

Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates (15:30)

Mamelodi Sundowns will resume their DStv Premiership title defence on Friday when they host Orlando Pirates at Loftus Versfeld.

The Brazilians come into the clash, having won six league games in a row before the World Cup break.

Their last league defeat was against SuperSport United at the start of September.

Coach Rulani Mokwena's charges were dominant in their last two Premiership encounters as they thrashed Maritzburg United 5-0 before a 3-0 win over Royal AM.

However, Orlando Pirates will take some optimism into the game due to the MTN8 semi-final second-leg result.

The Buccaneers handed Sundowns a rare defeat on 22 October when they beat the reigning champions 3-0 at Loftus before winning the competition.

Pirates are fifth in the league standings and nine points behind leaders Sundowns, who also have a game in hand.

The Soweto giants' last league outing was a 1-0 defeat at home against Kaizer Chiefs at the end of October before they beat AmaZulu by the same scoreline to lift the MTN8 trophy.

Cape Town City vs Royal AM (17:30)

Cape Town City host Royal AM at the DHL Stadium on Friday and will be hoping to grab the three points at home hoping to boost their standing on the league table.

City are 13th on the log after 12 games scoring just 11 goals and conceding 13. In their last league game, they crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Marumo Gallants FC on 29 October.

The Mother City side recently signed defender Lorenzo Gordinho and striker Juan Camilo Zapata to bolster the side for the second