Having witnessed one of the most captivating opening weekends in the Nigerian Premier League history, the thirst for more of such action meets fulfilment this week, when the Matchday 3 of the NPFL resumes.
The second week of NPFL actions promises to be even more interesting than the first with or without sponsors. Matches will be played on Wednesday 24th February 2016, by 4:00pm, across various centres in the country.
Enyimba, Akwa United and Nasarawa United have had their games against 3SC, Ikorodu United and Ifeanyi Ubah FC respectively, rescheduled till the 23rd of March, due to their continental involvement.
Today, I will preview four of the seven matches slated to quench our thirst for breath-taking action, this mid-week.
Here it goes:
RANGERS vs PLATEAU UTD
Rangers will head into this tie seeking to banish memories of the loss to Kano Pillars on Sunday. A game which while they led, spilled a handful of clear cut chances. Eventually, Kano Pillars equalised and left it late to snatch a win with the last kick of the game. While they return home to Enugu for this tie, they will be looking to stop Plateau United from recording their second victory of the season after defeating Niger Tornadoes, 2-1 at the Rwang Pam stadium in Jos last Saturday.
WARRI WOLVES vs KANO PILLARS
This is the pick of the bunch. Last season’s league runner-up vs serial league winners. Expect nothing but fireworks in Warri. Having played a 1-1 draw with Sunshine Stars in Akure, Warri Wolves will be searching for their first win against Baba Ganaru’s men. Kano Pillars on the other hand, coming on the back of a hard fought victory over Rangers, you’ll expect that as a team so active in the transfer window, they will be looking for maximum points. New signing Prince Agreh who perfectly announced his arrival by grabbing the late winner in Pillars’ last game, will be looking to continue to impress. So much can’t be said about Warri Wolves except that they will be very much equal to the task.
LOBI STARS vs SUNSHINE STARS
Sunshine stars of Akure will be looking to put away the disappointment of last season by, at least, claiming a continental ticket, this season. A task not helped by the exit of some key players and manager. They started this season with a new manager, drew their first game at home to Warri Wolves and will be looking to get a decent result against last season’s Federations Cup finalist, Lobi stars in Makurdi . Lobi Stars registered their first win of the season with a 0-1 victory over 3SC in Ibadan, some days ago. Judging by the just concluded match day, this game’s outcome will be really unpredictable.
MFM FC vs RIVERS UNITED
New boys, MFM FC will be looking to build on a solid start made away at Nasarawa United over the weekend. Just like Leicester City’s EPL story, I have this belief MFM might have a similar experience, but that remains to be seen. They will be hosting Rivers United (formerly Dolphins) from Port Harcourt, at the Agege stadium in Lagos. Rivers United will also be heading into this game with a lot of confidence, having beaten defending champions Enyimba on Sunday. One man to watch out for in Rivers United’s team should be Fredrick Obomate. He got the decisive goal against Enyimba but more than that, he put in a virtuoso performance in that game. For MFM FC, Chukwuma. He was voted by some journalist as the player of the past week. That alone should be a reason why Rivers United should be wary of this pocket-size dynamite.
HERE ARE THE FIXTURES FOR WEEK TWO IN THE NPFL (4:00 pm):
RANGERS vs PLATEAU UTD
WARRI WOLVES vs KANO PILLARS
WIKKI TOURIST vs HEARTLAND
ABIA WARRIORS vs EL KANEMI WARRIORS
LOBI STARS vs SUNSHINE STARS
MFM FC vs RIVERS UNITED
NIGER TORNADOES vs GIWA FC
Make it a date at any match venue to support your team. If you don’t have a team you support, now is the time to find one.
So while I make it to the Agege stadium tomorrow to support Africa’s best league, I hope you’ll be doing the same. Let’s support our local league.
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NPFL Roundup done by Adebiyi Tobi, who can be reached via @THETOBBI
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