The Orlando Pirates supporters like to call themselves "The Happy People" - all because of the stimulating and satisfying brand of soccer their energised young team has been displaying in PSL matches all around the country.

Now The Buccaneers' "Dazzling People" on the field face what could be their acid test in making "The Happy People" happy in the pinnacle South African soccer derby against old rivals Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday, with the ultimate destination of the Premier League title hanging in the balance.

A victory for Pirates will place them firmly in front on the title trail and all but eliminate defending champions Chiefs from the race to retain the championship for a record-equalling third time.

The other team in contention is Mamelodi Sundowns, the only side to have annexed three successive PSL championships and who will be viewing the big FNB Stadium showdown with a great deal of insular interest.

What prevents Pirates from being declared outright favourites is the chronic inability in recent games to transform the magical skill and collective rapport of players like Joseph Makhanya, Gift Leremi and Lebohang Mokoena into goals on the scoreboard.

A 1-1 draw against Sundowns, a 2-0 victory against Santos and a 2-0 success against Bloemfontein Celtic might easily have produced the sum of 15 goals -- so dominant were The Buccaneers territorially while playing their opponents off the park.

And in the torrid, emotion-charged atmosphere of a Chiefs' derby missing a bucketful of gilt-edged chances could well prove excruciatingly costly.

Also, in similar circumstances, Chiefs upstaged Pirates in the first League game between the teams this season and added credence to the claim of Amakhosi chairman Kaizer Motaung -- a high-profiled player himself in these games during his playing career -- that "the team expected to win the Soweto derby just as often ends up losing as winning."

For all this, Chiefs' form generally this season has been lacklustre and disappointing, with even the 5-2 victory against Free State Stars on Wednesday not overly impressive in view of the glaring gaps in their opponent's defence.

But Amakhosi upset The Buccaneers' applecart once this season and proved to themselves they have the ability to do it again.

The form team, however, remains Pirates, who have significantly sparkled in their last two games without diminutive kingpin Benedict Vilakazi, who is embroiled in criminal charges involving a rape allegation.

Coach Kosta Papic may have felt the unsavoury publicity would not only affect Vilakazi, but his presence in such circumstances could have been detrimental to the team as a whole.

Will the decision be rescinded for the Chiefs' game? Team general manager Phil "Mr Jones" Setshedi was evasive. "The coach decided to give Vilakazi a break in the current circumstances," said Setshedi, "and we'll make a late decision on whether it is advisable to include him this time."