On Sunday, Niger Tornadoes will travel to the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt to take on Rivers United in a rescheduled matchday 22 encounter in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).
The two teams are closely ranked, with Rivers United in 12th place and Niger Tornadoes in 11th, having played the same number of games, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
Rivers United has struggled in their recent NPFL outings, with just one win in their last five games (WLDLL), while Niger Tornadoes has enjoyed a more consistent run, with three wins and two losses in their last five matches (WWLWL).
The two teams have a rich history, with their last encounter at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna earlier this season seeing Bashir Usman score the winning goal for Niger Tornadoes. In their last five NPFL meetings, Rivers United has won two games, Niger Tornadoes has won one, and two matches have ended in draws.
2023/2024 Niger Tornadoes 1-0 Rivers United 2022/2023 Rivers United 2-1 Niger Tornadoes Niger Tornadoes 0-0 Rivers United 2021/2022 Rivers United 3-0 Niger Tornadoes Niger Tornadoes 0-0 Rivers United
This weekend's game is the first of a doubleheader against the former league champions, with another tie scheduled for Wednesday, May 22nd, in the Federation Cup.
Encouragingly, Niger Tornadoes has no injury concerns heading into the encounters.
Credit: NTFC MEDIA