Table leaders Kakamega Homeboyz play new entrants FC Talanta as Tusker face Bidco United
Although the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League is underlined by a low profile since it is not recognized by Fifa, football fans in the country continue to be held spellbound by the remaining matches involving red-hot title contenders Tusker and Kakamega Homeboyz.
The two teams’ fixtures this weekend, all pencilled for Sunday, are all too interesting to their faithful and while Tusker takes the battle to Bidco United, Kakamega Homeboyz will test the league’s new boys, FC Talanta.
That sums up tricky fixtures for the frontrunners but any slip-up by either side will spell doom to their title chances.
All in all, there are eight fixtures this weekend though it appears the one between AFC Leopards and Nairobi City Stars is the highlight.
To the punters, goal aggregate or difference might be the clincher as to who between Tusker and Homeboyz shall be crowned the country’s football kings after the end of the league that was temporarily halted due to the vagaries of COVID-19.
The two are joint leaders in the season with 57 points apiece although Tusker is advantageous in the statistics going into the penultimate matches of the season.
While Tusker have plundered 36 goals and conceded 17, Homeboyz have plucked 47 while letting in a considerable number in 32 which makes it quite an interesting demography.
Homeboyz, who had been enjoying a whip hand for a lengthy part of the second leg, would have been firmly in ascendancy had they not lost 2-0 to AFC Leopards in an Ingo Derby at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega last weekend.
Yet Homeboyz coach Bernard Mwalala has remained bullish despite the slip up that left the team chastised by their fans, given that they had beaten Ingwe once and held them twice before last weekend’s heart-break.
“It would be injudicious to read too much into our result against Leopards. We were focused solely on counter-attacks in a strategy that went awry but I’m sure we shall achieve the results which we want,” Mwalala said.
Despite Mwalala’s animated words ahead of the decider, Homeboyz have a mountain to climb as they will be up against FC Talanta who have had scant respect for experienced sides.
After their match with FC Talanta, the next fixture for Homeboyz will be on June 11 against an equally strong Kariobangi Sharks.
On the other hand, Tusker are also guaranteed a tough task against Bidco United and Posta Rangers and any opportunity of giving their opponents an inch in the do or die fixtures will be counter-productive to their chances of bagging the title back to back.
In the meantime, Leopards will be hoping to put behind them the disappointment of losing to rivals Gor Mahia in the Madaraka Day Cup extravaganza at Nyayo National Stadium last Wednesday when they engage City Stars.
Stars are a wounded side after fluffing an early lead against Gor last weekend only to fall 3-2 and as such, they would wish to vent their anger on Ingwe.
