Africa-Press – Tanzania. WITH the Mainland Premier League raging on, the battle for the top three is likely to heat up this weekend with second and third placed Young Africans and Azam FC all in action.
Simba, Yanga and Azam FC respectively are engaged in a tight race, seeking to join continental’s elite next season.
Yanga will travel to Lindi to face a tricky tie against Namungo at the Kassim Majaliwa Stadium in Ruangwa on Saturday, while Azam FC will be at their home venue – Azam Complex in Chamazi to entertain KMC.
Yanga are second on 57 points from 27 outings, while Azam are on 54 points from 28 matches.
This means, Yanga have seven matches to go, while Azam have remained with six matches. Defending champions and league leaders — Simba will be on the sidelines as they are in Johannesburg, South Africa ahead of their first leg of CAF Champions League quarter final match against hosts, Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Simba are four points clear of second placed Yanga and with nine matches for them to go, the Reds are clear favourites and are on track to retain the title the fourth consecutive time.
Yanga will be seeking to close the gap with leaders Simba but it will certainly be a tough call for the Jangwani Street outfit away to 10th placed Namungo.
The Ruangwa lads are seeking to crawl up the ladder. Ahead of the clash, Yanga have pitched camp in Mtwara region, ready for the encounter, which is predicted to be tough and mouthwatering.
And, Yanga Head Coach, Tunisian Nassredine Nabi said that his squad is ready to hunt for maximum points, which will boost their title race campaign.
However, they need to be on their guard as Namungo are not an easy push especially when they play at their home turf. Looking at the standings, Namungo are not safe from the relegation zone.
They are still very much embroiled in the red tape, meaning the Ruangwa lads will be looking to end their poor run especially after being held to a barren draw in their recent match against KMC.
Namungo have also been eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup group stage after finishing at the bottom of group D, which saw Raja Casablanca of Morocco and Egyptian side Pyramid FC cruising into the knockout stage.
Zambia’s Nkana FC and Namungo failed to sail through. In the first round encounter held at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw.
On the other side, Azam will host fifth placed KMC at their Azam Complex, where they will be targeting to pile pressure on the two giants for this season’s title.
The league continued yesterday with Namungo beating Mtibwa Sugar 1-0 at Majaliwa Stadium in Ruangwa
. It was Ibrahim Abdallah who registered a slim victory for his club and gave them an opportunity to elevate to 10th place of the log with 35 points from 25 outings.
Mtibwa Sugar are fixed at the second bottom place on 28 points from 28 matches and the Manungu lads are hanging on the cliff to survive relegation.
Ihefu FC at their home ground Highland Estate in Mbarali were forced to a 1-1 draw with Polisi Tanzania. Ihefu scored first through Raphael Daud in the 32nd minute but it took three minutes for Polisi Tanzania to equalise through Kassim Shaban.
The results elevated Polisi Tanzania to sixth place after collecting 38 points in 29 games. Ihefu have advanced to 12th place of the log with 31 points in 29 outings
