Coutinho out of Dar derby

Young Africans will be without the services of their playmaker, Andrey Coutinho when they clash with arch-rivals Simba on Sunday.

The Brazilian, who sustained an injury during their 3-0 league thrashing of Tanzania Prisons in Mbeya, has failed to recover on time for the derby encounter.

Coutinho was also omitted from the team that travelled to Botswana for the CAF Confederation Cup second leg showdown against BDF XI last Friday.

Yanga head coach Hans van der Pluijm told The Citizen yesterday that Coutinho’s chances of playing against Simba were negligible for he will be lacking fitness.

The Dutchman said the Sunday match will be physical, thus players coming off the treatment table may not make the starting line-up.

“Coutihno has not yet returned to normal training, so he will definitely miss the match. It is our expectation that the match will be physical, so we will not go into the game with players who are half fit,” said Van der Pluijm.

He added: “Other players who had minor knocks have recovered and ready for the looming battle.”

Simon Msuva picked a knock against BDF XI on Friday, but the coach confirmed that the attacker is fit for Sunday.

Speaking about his team’s chances of bagging maximum points against their eternal rivals, Van der Pluijm nursed hopes, but admitted that it will be a tough match.

“It will not be an easy match, but we are ready for the fight and will be all out trying to get the points at stake.

“We drew in the first round, but we now look stronger and more aggressive than we were in October (2014),” he said.

Yanga have camped in Bagomoyo perfecting their skills ahead of tie that will be played at the National Stadium.

Simba have also shifted their camp to Zanzibar with club president Evans Aveva bragging that they will cruise to an easy victory come Sunday.

Yanga lead the 14-team table with 31 points while Simba sit fourth with 23.