Gor Mahia host Bidco United at Nyayo as Ingwe face Mathare on 59th birthday

Record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia will be seeking to get back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon when they take on Bidco United at the Nyayo National Stadium.

For the first time in this 2022/2023 season, the Johnathan McKinstry-coached side found themselves having gone for two games without a win after suffering a shocking 2-1 loss against relegation-fighting Mathare United before being forced to a 2-2 draw against Nzoia Sugar.

That series of results saw the team miss the chance to open up an even bigger gap at the top of the table and now only have an advantage of two points over second placed KCB.

As the team prepares to buck that current trend, in form striker Benson Omalla, who is the league’s top scorer with 18 goals, has backed his side to rectify the rough patch and get back to winning ways.

“We have been frustrated not to win in the last two games but we have to learn from those games and deliver a good game when we face Bidco. They are not an easy side and we know the challenge they can pose but we need to get the three points,” he said.

Anthony Akhulia’s Bidco have also not won in their last two games and will be looking to present more challenges when they come up against K’Ogalo.

Bidco have always proved to be tough customers against Gor as the 19 time Kenyan champions have only won twice in the five league matches they have played (W2 D3).

The match kicks off at 1500EAT.

Mathare United vs AFC Leopards

Mathare United will welcome AFC Leopards to the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on Sunday afternoon as they seek to bounce back from Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Sofapaka.

Ingwe, on the other hand, defeated Wazito 1-0 in their opening second-leg match and, in the process, moved into the top five positions in the FKF Premier League table.

In Leopards, Mathare face a very solid outfit. Ingwe have not lost in the last ten matches, and in fact, the last time they conceded a goal was during their first-leg clash against Mathare, which ended in a 2-1 win for the 12-time league champions.

Mathare have won four of their last six games and have since moved out of the relegation zone, and another famous win like the one they got against Gor Mahia will do their confidence a lot of good.

Mathare's stand-in coach, Sam Koko, understands how tough the assignment ahead is but is confident that they can get a positive outcome. "Leopards are in good form at the moment; they are getting important wins. But we also have our qualities; we have our game plan, which I believe if fully implemented, can lead to a good result. It was a close game in the first leg that ended in the Leopards' advantage, and we expect a similar game, and hopefully this time we get the points," he stated.

Leopards coach Patrick Aussems says the two days that they had to prepare for the game were largely focused on recovery. "We only had two days, and it was more about recovering and being ready for the game. We will try to go and get the job done," he stated.

In Mombasa, Bandari FC will host Nzoia Sugar FC in a crunch league match.

The two teams did not win their week 18 action. Bandari lost 1-0 to Tusker FC, while Nzoia drew 2-2 with Gor Mahia.

Nzoia will welcome back captain Kevin Juma after suspension, while Bandari will miss the services of midfielder Fidel Origa, who picked up an injury against Tusker and had to go off in the first half.

Tusker vs Talanta FC.

In another Sunday afternoon FKFPL fixture, defending champions Tusker FC will welcome Talanta FC at the Ruaraka Grounds from 1500 EAT.

Following a slight blip to mark the end of the first leg, Tusker have seemed to shake off their misfortunes by winning their last four games in all competitions. In those games, Tusker have only conceded once and have had on-form player Shami Kibwana to depend on.

Talanta FC on the other hand have won one out of their last five games and stumbled on Wednesday to KCB at the Kasarani Annex grounds.

On head to head, last January's first leg fixture ended in a 2-2 draw with each team winning each of the pair of fixtures last season.

Forward Eric Mmata expressed his belief in the team making a run starting Sunday saying, "I believe that if we win our next five games, we will regain the top spot."

Posta Rangers vs Ulinzi Stars

At Kasarani Annex, Ulinzi Stars will be out to complete a league double over Posta Rangers when the two sides take to the pitch in the lunch hour kick off.

Ahead of the match, Ulinzi Stars coach Benard Mwalala opines that playing against Posta is a tough task considering that they are always unpredictable, but maintains that they have a mission to fulfill.

"Posta is a side that you cannot predict easily. They are always changing things so it makes it tough when you are playing against them," the tactician said.

The first leg of the encounter ended in a 1-0 win in favor of the Soldiers with Hillary Simiyu scoring the all-important goal.

In the other matches, Kakamega Homeboyz will host Kenya Police at Bukhungu Stadium in a match that was pushed forward to Sunday with Kariobangi Sharks squaring it out against KCB in the second game set to be played at Kasarani Annex.

Bandari will host Nzoia Sugar at Mbaraki Grounds while Wazito square it out with fellow strugglers Vihiga Bullets at Muhoroni Stadium.