When sixth-placed Kariobangi Sharks take on 14th placed Nzoia Sugar at Thika Stadium on Friday afternoon, there will be nothing to play for more than staying fit, honouring the league fixture and finishing the season on a high.Heading into the penultimate stage of the 2020/2021 Football Kenya Federation Premier League season, both clubs, unable to fight for the title, are assured of their place in next season’s championship by virtue of unassailable point difference from the bottom two relegation places.In their last fixture, Ibrahim Shikanda’s Nzoia managed to alleviate themselves from the relegation talk after a Hillary Simiyu brace powered them to a 2-1 win over a normally tactically astute Francis Kimanzi-led Wazito, ensuring that the seven-point gap created between them and second last-placed Western Stima could not be bridged as only two games are left before the season wraps up.According to their goalkeeper trainer Peter Mwaura, with the team safely ensuring their place in next season’s campaign, they expect to play without any pressure. “We are happy that we will not have pressure anymore in the game as we are safe. Nonetheless, we expect to give a good account of ourselves in the away match,” he said.👊|Matchday@k_sharksfc vs @nzoiasugarfc2 in Thika from 3 pm#FKFPL pic.twitter.com/m0dWz9vOvq— FKF Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) August 13, 2021 For Sharks, despite losing their last three games on the spin, their early form in the season inspired by league top scorer Eric Kapaito has them in contention for a top-three finish should they win their match against the millers.With nothing so much at stake, right back Daniel Sakari revealed that the team’s focus is just on having a good finish to their campaign.“Right now all we are fighting for is to get the best possible finish as the league is out of our reach. We know the match is not going to be easy for us but as a team we are just determined to go out there, enjoy ourselves as the season draws to a conclusion and get the maximum points,” the player disclosed.Final preparations done ahead of tomorrow’s fixture against Nzoia Sugar FC.#WeAreSharks #BetwaySharks pic.twitter.com/itxUovp8vY— Kariobangi Sharks FC (@k_sharksfc) August 12, 2021 In the two team’s first leg encounter, the game played to a barren stalemate. Just who will get the advantage over the other in the 2020/2021 season?The match kicks off at 1500EAT.
