Tricky duels for Yanga, Azam

Dar es Salaam. Giant-killers JKT Mgambo will be seeking to derail Azam FC’s Premier League title surge when they host the ice-cream makers at the Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga this afternoon.

Mgambo produced one of the major upsets this season when they stunned Simba 1-0 at the same venue last month.

The eagerly awaited encounter is one of two matches on the cards at different venues across the country today, as the battle for the title and the jackpot that goes with it takes shape.

Elsewhere, defending champions Young Africans face a tricky assignment when they take on rejuvenated Tanzania Prisons in another interest-generating duel at the National Stadium.

Yanga are four points adrift of leaders Azam, but they have a match in hand over the pace-setters.

Azam, who have remained unruffled at the pilot’s seat for nearly two weeks now, have amassed 47 points from 21 games, four points ahead of second-placed Yanga. Mbeya City sit third with 42 points while Simba are fourth with 36 points.

Hans Van Pluijm’s Yanga remain the side most likely to depose Azam at the top of the table, and a win against Prisons could see them pile pressure on the league leaders.

“I do think we have the squad capable to win the league.”

“We still have the chance to do something really special and do something this club hasn’t done since its formation by winning the trophy this season,” Azam head coach, Joseph Marius Omog, said yesterday.

He added: “We know that JKT Mgambo rarely lose at their home venue but we know how to contain them.”.