By Majuto Omary
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Five matches are on the menu at different venues across the country today as the battle for the Mainland’s soccer supremacy gains momentum.Simba, smarting from last week’s 1-0 defeat to relation-haunted Villa Squad at the National Stadium, return to the same venue for yet another tricky date with Azam FC.Elsewhere, Toto Africa host Moro United at Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza and bottom-placed Villa Squad host Dodoma Police at Jamhuri Stadium.

African Lyon are in Tanga for a date with hosts Coastal Union at Mkwakwani Stadium. The day will also see JKT Oljoro and JKT Ruvu battle it out at the Sheikh Amri Abeid  Stadium in Arusha.But the match of the day will be at the 60,000-seater National Stadium where both Simba and Azam will be fighting for a win so as to move to the summit of the topflight league.A win for either team in what promises to be a nail-biting showdown will see them wrest the league reigns from Young Africans for at least 24 hours.

Defending champions Yanga, who crushed Mtibwa Sugar 3-1 on Wednesday, are on the sidelines until tomorrow when they face Ruvu Shooting at the same stadium.
 Simba and Yanga tie on 34 points and 15 goal difference.

This means a draw against Azam FC will also be enough for Simba to regain the league leadership.
"We have a great team. Last week’s defeat to Villa Squad was just a normal slip up,” said Simba coach Milovan Cirkovic.

Third-placed Azam FC, on the other hand, are on 32 points and they must grab the three points at stake today if they are to topple the defending champions.And history will count for nothing in today’s clash. In the first round encounter, Simba squeezed a 1-0 win over half-baked Azam FC.

The big spenders avenged the defeat during the Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar where they outclassed the Cirkovic’s boys, winning 2-0 in a semifinal match at Amaan Stadium last month.Azam’s lethal striker John Boko is one of the players  Simba must mark tightly if they are to avoid another  embarrassment.

Boko, who tops the scoring chart with 11 goals, is one of the most feared strikers at the moment.

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