A bumper weekend of top fixtures means some tight games amongst the leading sides, and some looser encounters amongst those still trying to make their mark on the season.
With little time to rest for those sides reeling from last week’s defeats, we could see much of the same during a slew of this coming weekend’ clashes.
The big question at this early stage of the season is who will be the side to halt Blue Eagles and Nyasa Big Bullets’ winning streak? The two front runners have played nine games each, with Eagles leading the standings with 25 points, seconded by Bullets with 23 points. These are the only two teams yet to concede a defeat in the current season.
With the two teams in action this weekend, we preview week 9 of the 2022 TNM Super League.
Saturday, 14th May, 2022
Sable Farming vs Moyale Barracks at Mpira Stadium
Chalk and cheese is the go-to cliché for these two sides. Sable’s thumping last week to a somewhat meek Rumphi United side highlighted their current woes. The Chiradzulu based side are 15th in the standings with just five points from seven games. TN Stars are all that separates them from rock bottom, and to make things worse, they come up against a Moyale Barracks side which is slowly picking up after a poor start to the season.
They are likely strive to continue from last week’s 2-0 victory over Karonga United at Mzuzu Stadium and their opponents on Saturday won’t likely provide any resistance here.
It will be an interesting match between two sides who have had a similar start to the season.
A win for Sable Farming will be the first step towards moving out of the drop zone which has already made them relegation candidates with just few minutes played.
Red Lions vs Nyasa Big Bullets at Balaka Stadium
Bullets romped to a much-needed 1-0 victory away to Civil Service United last week to temporarily move top of the standings for 24 hours before they were dislodged by Eagles after they hammered Mighty Tigers 3-0 the following day.
Although over-shadowed by Eagle’s exploits, a new look Bullets collected the much needed points as they maintain their perfect start to the season.
On the other hand, Red Lions, who have had a difficult start to the season, will have to be at their level best in order to beat Kalisto Pasuwa’s side which has assembled a very youthful team after laying off eleven players earlier this season.
The Zomba based side is eighth in the standings with eleven points from eight games and they will definitely have a point to prove against the defending champions.
The last meeting between the two sides ended 1-0 in favor of Bullets, with the first round match ending 3-3 at Kamuzu Stadium.
A win for Bullets will take them top again but they have to sweat for the three points from a resilience side.
Sunday, 15th May, 2022
Rumphi United vs TN Stars at Rumphi Stadium
The rookies are climbing up the log table following last week’s comfortable 2-0 victory over Sable Farming at their base.
Current leading scorer Trouble Kajani has taken the league by storm and he has what it takes to inspire his side to another important victory at home.
Meanwhile at TN Stars, things are going from bad to worse. Still sitting rock bottom, their loss to Mighty Tigers last week was probably their most attainable win insight. Considering TN Stars were one of the best performers this time last year, it doesn’t look good for the Kasungu based side and they have to start winning if they are to escape the relegation.
Silver Strikers vs Kamuzu Barracks
Not a good start to the season for last season’s runners up Silver Strikers after dropping two crucial points at home to Ekwendeni Hammers.
Lying sixth with 12 points from eight games, The Central Bankers’ title hopes are slowly fading as the gap between them and top three teams continue to widen.
They are facing a side which has also started well to the season, sitting third in the standings with 17 points from the same number of games.
Of the two teams, Silver Strikers will go into this one less confident after a drop in form which has seen the team dropping more points at home than how they performed last season.
Dedza Dynamos vs Blue Eagles
Many non-Eagles supporters would have been rooting for Dedza Dynamos to upset the early pacesetters who are still enjoying their unbeaten start to the season but Eagles will not just give up their position without a fight.
The Area 30 based side are scoring goals at will and with their prolific in-form captain Shumacker Kuwali, it will take a lot of effort to take down the league leaders.
On the other hand, Dedza Dynamos is a very unpredictable side and they can cause havoc at any given time.
They started the campaign on a very good note but things have gone wayward after registering back to back defeats to TN Stars and Mighty Wanderers respectively.
The rookies will show resilience and will not to register a third defeat in a row.
This will be one of the exciting fixtures to watch this week.
Tigers vs Mafco FC at Mpira Stadium
Despite registering a defeat last week to Blue Eagles, Mighty Tigers have started the league on a very high note after escaping relegation last season.
Trevor Kajawa’s side are fourth in the table with 15 points from nine games and a win over the Salima based side will ignite their top 8 ambitions for the first time in four years.
But facing a struggling Mafco side will not be easy for the Kanjedza based side.
The military side are just a point away from the drop zone after starting the season with three straight defeats.
A win over Tigers will see them moving up the table but playing at Mpira Stadium has never been easy for any visiting side.
Week nine will complete with two more midweek fixtures involving Sable Farming and Tigers FC at Mpira Village and Blue Eagles vs Civil Service United at Nankhaka Stadium.
