Friday, February 24, 2017
Express vs Vipers– Wankulukuku Stadium 4:00pm – Live on Azam TV
Five captivating Azam Uganda Premier League (AUPL) matches are lined up this weekend as the battle for top positions and that to survive the drop intensifies. URA host Proline at Mehta Grounds and in-form Police travel to Kavumba for a clash against Soana on Friday.
Kakindu will play host to relegation-threatened JMC Hippos and Lweza on Saturday but it is champions KCCA entertaining fan-and-neutrals favourites Onduparaka at Phillip Omondi Stadium at Lugogo on the same day, and Vipers visiting Express a day earlier that has the city talking.
Two-time champions, Vipers, arrive at the home of Express – Wankulukuku – on Friday as a team still struggling to gel after new players like Ibrahim Kayiwa, Brian Kakaire and the returning Tony Odur came in during the off-season.
Actually, Vipers coach Richard Wasswa admitted they are still a work in progress before they knocked out Comoros’ Volcan di Moroni in the Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round.
Currently placed fourth with 27 points from 16 games, Wasswa knows that they must get into their act quickly if they are to seriously challenge for the domestic league title.
A win against Express will move Vipers to third and within five points of leaders KCCA, who have 35.
Yet they come up against an Express side – currently eighth – that are even more desperate for the points.
The Red Eagles have struggled to get it going since Mathias Lule took charge in November.
“We have to improve in all areas,” said Lule, “We played for only 20 minutes against Doves and resorted to kicking the ball around.”
Express only shook off lower league Doves Allstars on penalties to progress to the Uganda Cup round-of-16 this week.
The other fixture that has aroused a lot of anticipation at Lugogo is on Saturday. Onduparaka is unbeaten back home at their intimidating Betway Greenlight Stadium, where KCCA actually registered their first defeat of the season.
But they arrive at Lugogo where KCCA boast of 100 per cent winning record having taken maximum points from all their eight matches.
The West Nilers will have to be at their attentive best to shut out strikers Geoffrey Sserunkuma and Derrick Nsibambi.
The two have scored 14 of the team’s 29 league goals after 16 games, with Sserunkuma contributing 10 of them.
Unfortunately for Onduparaka, the game comes at a time when their captain Muhammad Shaban, also on 10 goals, is ruled out due to accumulated bookings.
As if that is not discouraging enough, his would-be-replacement Caesar Okhuti, scorer of the winning goal in Tuesday’s come from behind 2-1 Uganda Cup round-of-32 win over Mbarara, is also ineligible to play against KCCA as he is on loan from the side. Fahad Toko is likely to step in.
