admintheir championship credentials with ‘tough’ assignments against CAPS United and Blue Ribbon on Saturday.
Log leaders Motor Action meet a resurgent CAPS United at National Sports Stadium while ambitious FC Platinum have a date against Blue Ribbon at Rufaro.
FC Platinum secretary, Philmon Muvengwa, yesterday said they will be out to end a winless run of five games in the league race, which has virtually stalled their ambitions.
Muvengwa yesterday said their 1-0 win over Black Mambas in the first round of the Mbada Diamonds Cup last Saturday gave them the impetus they needed in this race.
Muvengwa, however, said they will be cautious of the threat posed by Misheck Chidzambwa’s side who are coming from a 4-0 thrashing of Shabanie Mine in the Mbada Diamonds Cup tournament.
“It’s always difficult playing away from home especially against such a good side as Blue Ribbon.
“They are a good side and you can see that they mean serious business from their recent results in the first round of the Mbada Diamonds Cup,” he said.
“It speaks volumes about their capabilities and we have to be thoroughly prepared.
“You may agree with me that we had gone for a couple of games without winning but I believe that our win last weekend has given us the impetus we needed,” said Muvengwa.
The Mighty Bulls coach Joey Antipas yesterday said competition at the top has become tight and rued the missed opportunities in their recent league matches when they dropped six points in their last three matches.
“We need positive results to try and hang on at the top. We have been playing our game but the results have not been that good in our recent league matches. So we need to push forward and try to turn things around.
“Hopefully, we will get a positive result but I think it will be tough against CAPS United because they have been on the way up of late and are hungry for results,” said Antipas.
Motor Action have drawn their last three games against FC Platinum, Zimbabwe Saints and Chicken Inn but they still top the charts courtesy of a superior goal difference as they are level on 42 points with FC Platinum.
But their stay at the top could be under a severe test from Makepekepe who are still smarting from their first round ouster from the Mbada Diamonds Cup at the hands of bitter rival Dynamos. With just seven matches remaining before the end of the season, Makepekepe are looking forward to collecting as many points as they can to finish at a respectable position in the top eight.
Dynamos, who recently bounced back into the picture following a good run of four consecutive league victories under new coach Callisto Pasuwa, will also be aiming for maximum points against Monomotapa on
Sunday to keep pressure on the leading pair.
DeMbare are third on the log standings with 39 points and they will keep a keen eye on the developments on Saturday. Gunners will be out to continue with their revival under Moses Chunga when they hostMasvingo at Lafarge.
Fixtures
Saturday
CAPS United v Motor Action (NSS), Blue Ribbon v FC Platinum (Rufaro), Black Mambas v Highlanders (Morris Depot), Gunners v Masvingo (Lafarge), Shooting Stars v Hwange (Gwanzura)
Sunday
Zimbabwe Saints v Chicken Inn (White City), Dynamos v Monomotapa (Rufgaro), Shabanie Mine v Kiglon (Maglas).
Bongani Ndlovu