There is football fiesta at Karonga Stadium this weekend when it will host two high profile matches involving two unpredictable dark horses from the north and two Blantyre based giants in week eight of the 2023 TNM Super League season.
There will also be more exciting fixtures across the country, with Silver Strikers aiming to continue winning when they travel to Mponela to play Kamuzu Barracks whilst Bangwe All Stars and Red Lions will strive to bounce back from last week’s hammering at the hands of giants when they face off at Mpira Stadium.
There is plenty of action in the Super League, but let’s preview some of the fixtures.
Chitipa United v FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
The log leaders have had a perfect start to their title defense, winning and scoring goals for fun, the latest being their 4-0 win over Red Lions, a match which would have had more than seven goals had it been the three goals, wrongly disallowed by the first and second assistants referees for offsides calls, were allowed to stand.
The People’s Team have never lost to Chitipa regardless of where they meet, with the last meeting between the two teams ending 2-0 in favor of Bullets in the quarterfinals of the FDH Bank Cup.
The last league meeting between Saturday’s opponents at Karonga Stadium was in 2020/21 season, in which Bullets won 2-0 courtesy of the first half strikes from Hassan Kajoke and Mike Mkwate.
But this season’s meeting is totally different from the previous encounters.
Bullets will come up against an equally confident side, which is coming from a memorable 1-0 away from home victory over Mighty Mukuru Wanderers. The giant killers have vowed to put Bullets to the sword, and this will depend on how they will approach the game. This is one of the games to watch. A win for Bullegs will see them maintaining their perfect start to the season whilst Chitipa’s victory would see them moving into the top four.
Mafco FC v Moyale Barracks
Mafco will be highly upset with their dismal start to the season. A measly eight points from seven games doesn’t bode well for a Top 4 finish that they should be capable of. However, they can move up in the standings if they can claim back-to-back victories after they defeated Extreme FC 2-1 last week.
But facing Moyale, a side also looking for a win following back-to-back draws to Wanderers and Blue Eagles, might be a tough task for Prichard Mwansa, who will be hosting his former club.
The Mzuzu based soldiers, who are sitting in position six, can move up to fourth (depending on Chitipa’s result over Bullets) and consider that Karonga United will host Wanderers on Sunday.
It’s a battle of friendly forces where a win for either side would rediscover a winning formula.
Blue Eagles v Extreme FC
If you asked soccer pundits at the beginning of the season where they thought Blue Eagles would be sitting at this stage, it would’ve been entirely opposite to the current situation.
The Area 30 based side, runners up last season, have found life very difficult this season as they have only registered one win, five draws and one defeat to drop into 9th position with 8 points from seven games.
A side that had conceded a few goals in thirty games last season has already conceded eight goals and are lagging behind in the title race, failing to continue from where they stopped last season. But this game might give them relief based on how their opponents are struggling since earning promotion into the Super League.
Extreme FC are rock bottom, sitting on two points with a minus seven goal difference. They haven’t won any game apart from the two draws they registered. They have five defeats in the seven games played.
Bangwe All Stars v Red Lions
Two struggling teams face off at Mpira Stadium for maximum points. Bangwe All Stars have registered three straight defeats at the hands of Bullets, Wanderers, and Silver, dropping into 14th position with six points from seven games. One wouldn’t blame them because they have now played against the three top teams.
Saturday’s game might offer them a new lease of life, depending on the result. They haven’t won any game at home, and this is a concern for a side that promised so much to offer following their transfer activities on the market.
On the other hand, Red Lions will also be looking for a win after their 4-0 hammering at Bullets last Sunday.
With their relegation history, the visitors are one of the strongest contenders to face the chop once again as they continue to struggle in the league.
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They have four points from seven games and sit in the 15 position, two points behind Saturday’s opponents.
Sunday, 4 June 2023
Karonga United v Mighty Mukuru Wanderers
This fixture would battle to garner attention at the best of times following Wanderers’ 1-0 home defeat to Chitipa last week. It’s a game in which Mark Harrison’s charges should win at all cost in order to remain in the race for the title. The difference between Wanderers and fellow contenders is the ability to nick in results when mattered most. Dropping points at home to Chitipa was something Harrison described as “costly” considering how fellow contenders performed last week.
They visit a venue which they easily win, but with last week’s defeat in mind, Karonga United might gain confidence and pile more misery on Wanderers.
Sitting third in the standings with 14 points, Wanderers will go for the kill in order to move on from the disappointing defeat.
But it won’t be easy as Karonga, fourth in the standings with ten points, would also fight to maintain their positive start to the season.
Dedza Dynamos v Civil Service United
Two teams with mixed start to the season. The hosts are currently struggling after registering one win in seven games. They dropped points when they were held to a 1-all draw at home by Mighty Tigers. They are hosting a very rejuvenated side, which is coming from a 1-0 win over Kamuzu Barracks last week.
Dedza are just a point above the relegation with seven points from seven games whilst Civil are 7th with nine points from the same number of games.
Kamuzu Barracks v Silver Strikers
Silver remain on a perfect start after seven games, with 15 points yielded for their efforts. Utterly dominant in the competition after they struggled last season, in which they finished outside the top four and without any silverware. They now face one of their biggest challenge to date. They will travel to Mponela to face Kamuzu Barracks, last season’s bronze medalists, but now struggling for points.
The Bankers were 4-1 winners over Bangwe whilst KB lost 1-0 at home to Civil.
Peiter De Jongh’s side is second in the standings, two points behind Bullets (but this gap may either widen or reduced depending on Bullets’ result over Chitipa).
As for the Soldiers, they are 10th in the standings with eight points from seven games.
Mighty Tigers v Ekwendeni Hammers
Another exciting fixture involving teams that are slowly gaining points. Tigers are 11th with eight points whilst Ekwendeni are 8th with 9 points from seven games.
Tigers head into this match straight from back-to-back draws to Silver and Dedza whilst Ekwendeni are coming from two back-to-back wins over Mafco FC and Chitipa United, respectively.
It’s a weekend full of fun for all soccer lovers across the country.
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