Kaizer Chiefs kick off their 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign this afternoon in Cape Town, against Stellenbosch FC.

The fixture between Stellenbosch, who finished third on the log, and Amakhosi, who came ninth last season, is the last of the first round of matches, with other 14 teams having played their opening matches on Saturday and earlier on Sunday.

The two teams will have some changes after releasing and onboarding new players during the pre-season. Amakhosi have signed six players and added a few players from the Kaizer Chiefs Youth Development Academy. However, some of the new players are not in the 20-man squad today as there’s still some paper work that needs to be sorted out before they can officially play in the PSL.

As reported on Friday, Chiefs will be without Coach Nasreddine Nabi after he travelled back to his homeland to be with his family following an unfortunate accident there. Amakhosi’s bench will have first and second assistant coaches, Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze, guiding the team.

Winger and Nedbank Cup player-of-the-tournament, Pule Mmodi, will miss the game as his suspension from the previous season is carried over. Goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma is also out with injury, along with Rushwin Dortley and Given Msimango, who have both been out for a few months.

The team that is entrusted with collecting the first three points of the season against Stellies will see Brandon Petersen in goal.

The defence will have Bradley Cross on the left and Thabiso Monyane will make his official debut for Chiefs at right-back. Central defenders Inacio Miguel and Aden McCarthy.

The midfield has Thabo Cele collaborating with Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Mduduzi Shabalala (whose jersey number has changed to 7) in front of the defensive midfielder.

On the wings Amakhosi have Glody Lilepo on the left and Wandile Duba (now wearing jersey #47) on the right.

Leading the attack is another debutant and KCYDA graduate, Naledi Hlongwane

It will be a 4-3-3 formation for this evening’s encounter.

The referee is Eugene Mdluli, who will be assisted by Cledwin Baloyi and Thabo Thinane. The fourth official is Msimeleli Mabuto.

Amakhosi’s first Betway Premiership match of the 2025/26 season against Winelands team will kick off at 17:30 at Athlone Stadium. The match will be live on SuperSport’s channel 202, with live commentary on various SABC radio stations. There will be live updates on the Club’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account, @kaizerchiefs.

Chiefs XI: Petersen (1), Cross (48), Miguel © (84), McCarthy (35), Monyane (2), (18), Cele (21), Ngcobo (12), Shabalala (7), Lilepo (99), ), Duba (47), Hlongwane (31)

Subs: Ntwari (30), Kwinika (4), Frosler (39), Mthethwa (5), Ndlovu (8), Mabaso (34), Vilakazi (28), Sirino (10), Du Preez (9)

Coach: Khalil Ben Khalil

Stellenbosch XI: Stephens © (17); Moloisane (24), Enyinnaya (16), Nkwali (14),  Mdaka (3), Butsaka (33),  Palace (28),  De Jong (18), Titus (34), Barns (20), Cupido (9)

Subs: Langeveldt (35); Mcaba (26), Khanyi (15), Khiba (19), Lekoloane (8), Jabaar (27), Phili (11), Mojela (10), Nku (7)

Coach: Steve Barker