At the Ondo State Sports Complex, fans from Akure, Umuahia and football lovers in Nigeria will be treated to a mouthwatering clash between Sunshine Stars of Akure and Abia Warriors of Umuahia, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The group B fixture has a lot at stake with the Akure Gunners looking for their first win of the season against a wounded Warriors who dropped their first points in their Match Day 3 fixture.
While the home team may not have lost so far, their run of three consecutive draws without a win is something to worry about.
For Abia Warriors, a fine run with a winning streak cut short by a defeat against Lobi Stars at home is one that the Abia base team want to forget in a hurry.
According to right full back, Mustapha Jibrin, "(the Warriors) We have what it takes to cause an upset in Akure.". Can they? Well, 90 minutes will tell.
Form
Sunshine have three draws in three matches while Abia Warriors have two wins and a draw in three games in the 2022/2023 Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL season.
Head to Head/Past Meetings
The teams have met seventeen times in recent times. Sunshine Stars have a large share of wins with seven as against Abia Warriors' four wins while six games have ended in draws.
In fact, the Stars from Akure have not lost at home against Abia Warriors in seven meetings. They have won six times with one draw.
Key Players
Sunshine Stars new signing, Yusuf Ibrahim have started well scoring two of the three goals scored so far by the home team. Abia Warriors, this is the man to watch!
On the hand, Abia Warriors have a couple of players to call on when needed. Bello Lukman with two goals out of the five goals scored by his team and Henry Udezuka's and Kalu Nweke's one goal and an assist respectively are players who can deliver the goods for the away side.
Expectation
This looks like a game Abia Warriors will go ahead to win after regulation time.
The match comes up by 4pm at the Ondo State Sports Complex on Sunday, the 29th of January, 2023.
By Uche Dozie