A crunchy Oriental derby, a cognate North Central derby and a grudge North-Eastern derby are some of the exciting match-ups that await fans of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) this weekend as the 2021/2022 season nears its midway point.
This season has already served some dramatic ups and downs in results obtained by teams from different rungs of the ladder so much so that the pick of this weekend’s fixtures in Owerri is now an Oriental Derby of the Strugglers: Heartland against Enyimba.
While Enyimba are 7th and eight points adrift of the leaders, the current run of one win out of the last five games is unacceptable given their lofty standards while for Heartland, the fact that no team in the division have won lesser games than the Naze Millionaires (3) shows why they’re enmeshed in relegation troubles. Saturday’s game will be more than just a derby but a redemption mission for new Heartland coach Erasmus Onu Ollotah and under-fire Enyimba coach Finidi George.
The North Central derby in Ilorin between Kwara United and Niger Tornadoes brings old friends and foes back together. No fewer than five players in the current Tornadoes set-up joined from Kwara United while head coach Abubakar Bala (a former United coach) is an Ilorin man through and through. While United are currently in the top six, Tornadoes are 15th on the log, knowing that a positive result in this derby will advance their ambition to stay afloat till the end of the season.
One derby which promises lots of fireworks on Sunday is the North East derby of the equals between Wikki Tourists and Gombe United in Bauchi. The two neighbouring teams have plenty in common; same number of points after 14 games, identical mammoth crowd attendance in home games and head coaches of Ilorin upbringing – Kabiru Dogo and Zubairu Aliyu respectively.
A South Western derby also takes place in Lagos where bottom of the table MFM FC – who seem to have commenced another bid for escape – play hosts to Sunshine Stars at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere. Having secured four points from their last two games, MFM will hope to garner more against a very obstinate Sunshine Stars side led by the cerebral Deji Ayeni.
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