Thursday, April 1
*MYDA Vs SC Villa, 4pm (Live on Sanyuka TV)
Team News:
- MYDA FC will be without goalkeeper Isaac Osikol who picked his third yellow card against Kyetume.
- The club welcomes back Rashid Mpata and Faisal Muledhu while Ahmed Saleh Hussein, Eric Mutebi, Batali Moses and Mark Bassi are sidelined with injuries
- SC Villa have Emmanuel Alex Wasswa available after serving his suspension for the second time this season.
- They will be without Benson Muhindo and Nasser Lukwago due to injuries while Ronald Ssekiganda is out due to yellow card accumulation.
Probable Lineups
MYDA FC – Andrew Ssekandi (GK), Outa Dickson, Derrick Basoga, Rashid Mpata, Amos Etoja, Peter Musoke, Faisal Muledhu, Paul Musamali, Eric Mutebi, Ibra Nsimbe, Isma Mafabi.
SC Villa – Meddie Kibirige (GK), Asuman Harishe, Gavin Kizito, Fred Agandu, Andrew Kiwanuka, Emmanuel Wasswa, Amir Kakomo, Abdallah Salim, Nicholas Kabonge, Derrick Ndahiro, Isaac Ogwang
Preview: Can Villa Collect Maximum Points In Tororo?
SC Villa will be targeting to start the second round on a positive note when they visit MYDA FC at King George IV memorial stadium in Tororo.
Villa needed a late Faizol Kazibwe goal to overcome MYDA in the reverse fixture in Bombo.
It will take a day to convince me that Villa are title contenders given their unconvincing performance in the first round where they only managed two wins (Bright Stars and Kyetume) out of seven away games.
After the end of the first round, Coach Edward Kaziba said that they are still chasing for a league title but these are games they should win if they are to conform with what Kaziba said. They should walk the talk.
A couple of injuries and suspensions here and there made Kaziba’s work difficult but he has not been helped by the management after the players went over seven months without pay.
They have needed failed to kill off games and in some circumstances needed late goals to pick a result, a vice they must avoid going into the second round.
MYDA on the other hand, have been baptised with fire since joining the UPL but coach Musafiri Swamadu Abdul has blamed the poor start to an inexperienced squad.
Just like Villa, MYDA are financially constrained and that greatly showed in their preparations for the games mainly against Wakiso Giants when they reached at Kabaka Kyabaggu Stadium minutes past the kickoff time.
They have struggled to assemble a full squad prior to games on various games as players continue to go AWOL.
They needed the last day of the first round to pick their first win of the season thanks to a 1-0 win over Kyetume FC at Njeru.
That and a couple of few games provide a drop of hope but the fact that they are eight points adrift of safety means that they will need about seven wins this season from the remaining 15 games to survive.
MYDA are yet to win at home this season and will have to bank on home advantage if they are to mount a strong challenge in their race to beat the drop.
What they said:
Coach Abdul Musafiri (MYDA) – “We are very ready for the SC Villa game and each game we play on our side will be a cup final because we badly need the points and we know we can. I know in the first round we had players who were on their first coming in the top tier, big crowd, fearing big names but for now I have confidence in them they have the experience and our second round will be different from the first round. Villa are coming at our home and we’ve been training hard here because we badly need those points. We have rectified our mistakes against SC Villa away and we are very ready.
Coach Edward Kaziba (SC Villa) – “We started training in preparation for the second round 8 days ago, we put our main emphasis on regaining fitness. Right now I can confidently say that the boys are fit and ready to play at the highest intensity possible. We are going to Tororo to collect all the 3 points. We want to start the second round on a high note.”
How To Watch – The game will be broadcast live on Sanyuka TV courtesy of League sponsors StarTimes Uganda. You can follow live text updates on The-SportsNation social media pages as well.
The Stats:
MYDA FC
- They are 15th on the table with 6 points having won 1, drawn 3 and lost 11.
- The team has conceded 44 goals, the highest tally this season
- They have collected two points from a possible 21 at home.
SC Villa
- Villa are 7th with 25 points having won 7, drawn 4 and lost as many
- Ended the first round on a two-game winning run, beating Onduparaka and Bright Stars.
- They have one clean sheet in their eight matches on the road this season.
