It shows the importance of Saturday’s clash at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, where Sundowns will host Pirates and either be reined further in, extend their advantage at the top of the table or continue the status quo with a draw.
Sundowns currently lead the division with 31 points from their opening 10 games, three ahead of Pirates, who have two games in hand.
The points per game calculation is an intriguing one, but it is nowhere near as simple as that and points on the board are invaluable. It does, however, illustrate that Pirates have made the better start to the season, albeit having played two games fewer than The Brazilians.
Sundowns, in fact, would not even be second, with Sekhukhune United collecting points at a higher rate than the Pretoria side, pushing them into third.
Pirates have finished runners-up to Sundowns in each of the last three seasons, and five of the eight that Sundowns have been champions in a row.
They will hope that their strong start, and the wobbles of their title rivals, mean they might finally this year be the bride and no longer just the bridesmaid.
Sundowns will be without key players Teboho Mokoena and Miguel Reisinho, who are both suspended.
After a sticky start, Pirates are on a run of six straight league wins, which has seen them collect 2.25 points per game from their first eight fixtures. At this rate, they would finish the season with around 68 points.
Sekhukhune have hit a blip with a single point from their last two games but have still managed 2.22 per game this campaign, an excellent return for coach Eric Tinkler’s side.
Sundowns have averaged 2.10 points per game and, at this rate, would finish with 63, well down on their previous seasons and their lowest tally since the 2019/20 campaign (59 points).
Welcome news for long-suffering Kaizer Chiefs (1.78 points per game) fans is that they would end with around 53 points, their highest since that same season, when they managed 57 and were pipped on the final day of the campaign by The Brazilians.
AmaZulu (1.67) have quietly gone about their business under coach Arthur Zwane, and their current record would be good enough for fifth.
Four clubs are averaging less than a point per game, but it feels like the first of those, Stellenbosch FC (0.90), won’t be for long as they appear to have bounced back to form.
Magesi FC (0.90), Siwelele (0.80) and Chippa (0.60) are the others.