- Tusker beat Leopards 1-0 in the first leg
- The brewers have won three of their last five matches
- The two are second and third in the standings
Second and third placed teams in the FKF Premier League, Tusker FC and AFC Leopards, battle on Wednesday afternoon at the Nyayo National Stadium as the second leg gathers steam.
The brewers beat Leopards 1-0 ion the first leg courtesy of an Eric Mmata penalty and they will be out to exert revenge when they meet again at Nyayo.
Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano has said the duel against AFC will be competitive, but remains optimistic the team has what it takes to battle for three points against Leopards.
“It is going to be a tough and very competitive match because Leopards have been playing well this season. They are just one point below us in the league and they will definitely want to come and beat us to move up,” the coach said.
He added; “But we have prepared well and we have trained well since our last match on Saturday. We are ready for the game.”
The brewers will be without strikers Ibrahim Joshua and Deogratious Ojok who are both nearly back to first team training after recovering from injury, but the coach says he will not rush them back in.
Left back Boniface Onyango remains a long term absentee as he continues recovering from knee surgery.
Meanwhile, Leopards will have a lean squad to work with. They had only 18 players on the bench in their last match, the Cup tie against Murang’a Seal and from that game, striker Ojo Olaniyi limped out injured with a hamstring.
Limited options for coach Aussems
AFC Leopards coach Patrick Aussems watches as Washington Munene battles wit Kakamega Homeboyz’s Moses Mudavadi
Head coach Patrick Aussems will have limited options, but with a side that has won four of their last five matches, he will be optimistic of a good performance.
Overall, over the last 30 meetings, Tusker has won a massive 18 while Leopards won half of the remaining 12 with the rest ending in draws.
The first leg meeting ended 1-0 at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani, Eric Mmata’s penalty settling the duel.
Also, over the last 30 meetings, Tusker has scored 45 goals against Leopards and conceded 21.
The last time Tusker completed a home and away sweep of Leopards was in the 2018 season with a 4-2 first leg win and a 4-0 whitewash in the return fixture.
Other fixtures
Sharks celebrate
Meanwhile in other fixtures, the newly constructed Police Sacco Stadium will host a double header, Bidco United taking on Kariobangi Sharks in the early kick off while relegation fighting Mathare United tackle FC Talanta in the late kick off.
In Muhoroni, title-seeking Kenya Police FC will look to put their Cup exit dissapointments behind their backs when they take on Wazito FC.
Police have won only twice in the last five matches to see their league hunt suffer a hit as they dropped down to sixth, but with a win, they can squeeze in back to the top three if the teams above them lose.
In Mombasa, Ulinzi Stars will be away to Bandari FC. Seventh placed Ulinzi have not won in their last three and victory will be a massive boost for their top five hopes.
Ninth placed Bandari lost their last match in Nairobi to AFC Leopards and they will be keen to bounce back.
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