Table-toppers, Sunshine Stars, and in-form Shooting Stars of Ibadan both have tricky tests at home this weekend in the Nigeria Premier League as they take on title contenders Kano Pillars and Enyimba International respectively.The games in Akure and Ibadan are seen as star matches for Week 13 as they guarantee to decide key positions at the top of the Glo Premier League at the end of day.
For the Sunshine/Pillars clash, both teams boast of a rich vein of form having lost just once in their last five outings.However, while the Akure Gunners struggled to a 2-1 win over Warri Wolves in their last outing, Pillars were more convincing as they thrashed Giwa FC 4-1 in Kano.
Despite the huge win in their last game, Coach Okey Emordi and his Pillars team have a lot to worry about as Akure over the years has not been a good hunting ground for the Pyramid Boys.
In the past five seasons, Pillars have lost every game in Akure, the last being a 3-0 bashing; but that nonetheless, Coach Emordi maintains that impossible is nothing.
“This is football, and anything can happen. We are not going there with a mentality to play defensive as we believe we can win anywhere,” he told www.npfl.ng.
The Ibadan showdown is also evenly poised as Enyimba who have gone five games without a loss attempt to halt the good run of the the Oluyole Warriors under new coach Gbenga Ogunbote, who has taken charge of two matches, won one and drawn the other away against Bayelsa United.
The last time Shooting Stars hosted Enyimba in this same fixture, it ended 1-1. Andrew Abalogu scored for the Peoples Elephant 10 minutes into the second half before Francis Edem levelled matters from the spot with eight minutes to full time. The dropped points for Enyimba proved costly as they missed out narrowly on the League title that season.
Away from the star matches, fourth-placed Wikki Tourists will host bottom-placed Sharks in their newly adopted home ground at the Patami Stadium in Gombe. Wikki could move into the top-two after match day 13 with a win against Sharks should Enyimba and Kano Pillars stumble.
In Warri, Wolves are going to host Rangers while ambitious Giwa FC, who had their nine-game unbeaten run snapped in midweek by Kano Pillars, will seek to bounce back to reckoning when they face Dolphins at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.
Other matches on Sunday are Abia Warriors versus Akwa United at the Enyimba Stadium and El-Kanemi Warriors versus FC Ifeanyiubah at the Karkanda Stadium in Katsina.
Heartland will host FC Taraba while Bayelsa United go up against Nasarawa United at the Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi. The Ilorin Township Stadium is the venue of the match between Kwara United and Lobi Stars.
Match Day 13 Fixtures
Sunshine Stars vs Kano Pillars
Abia Warriors vs Akwa United
Dolphins vs Giwa FC
El-Kanemi Warriors vs FC Ifeanyiubah
Wikki Tourists vs Sharks
Heartland vs FC Taraba
Shooting Stars vs Enyimba
Nasarawa United vs Bayelsa United
Kwara United vs Lobi Stars
Warri Wolves vs Rangers
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