Record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia will be seeking to overcome the challenge presented by Bidco United as they search for their second win of the 2022/2023 Football Kenya Federation Premier League in as many matches when they play at Thika Stadium on Saturday afternoon.Under the current stewardship of Northern Irishman Johnathan McKinstry, who took over ahead of the new campaign, K’Ogalo will be wary of the difficulty the Thika-based side has always presented to them since their promotion to the top tier two seasons ago.🟢 | MATCH DAY We take on Bidco United today at Thika Stadium. Let’s do it lads… 💪💪#Sirkal | #SportPesaNaGor | @SportPesa pic.twitter.com/fdmDoavVK4— GOR MAHIA FC (@OfficialGMFC) November 26, 2022 In the four matches they have played, the 19-time Kenyan champions have only won once and drawn in the remaining three games, a record the head coach knows is certainly going to be put under the test once again when they play in their first away game of the season.“We are expecting a very tough game against Bidco, obviously they are at home and we know the field might be challenging for both teams but we go there confident that we can put in a competitive performance.##NAJAVA_MECA_6843378##We know Bidco have been a difficult opponent and the games have been very close and we expect another close one on Saturday. We have to be at our very best,” McKinstry noted in his pre-match notes.On the other hand, Bidco will also be keen to maintain their positive start to the season after their morale-boosting 0-2 victory in their season opener against Nairobi City Stars.Is there a deadlock between FIFA and Government of Kenya?Having never managed a victory against Gor, Bidco head coach Anthony Akhulia backed his side to throw everything in their bid to pluck three points from the visitors come matchday.”We have never beaten Gor Mahia since we got promoted, all our best meetings have ended in draws including the recent pre-season friendly match. We will work to get a win and we will see what happens on Saturday,” he said.🚩 Fixture Update🕘 Bidco United vs Gor Mahia kicks off at 4 pm Thika Time.🕘 Sofapaka vs Posta Rangers kicks off at 2 pm Ruaraka Time#FKFPL pic.twitter.com/yfVfMwJvLt— FKF Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) November 25, 2022 While Gor Mahia have no fresh injury concerns, Bidco will miss the services of midfielder Emmanuel Mogaka as the attacking midfielder had to be taken off in the first against City Stars after picking yet another injury in the duel.The match kicks off at 4 PM EAT.Nzoia Sugar vs BandariRedemption-seeking Nzoia Sugar FC will host Bandari in an FKF Premier League tie at the Sudi Stadium on Saturday afternoon with three points at stake for both teams.The millers went down 1-0 to Gor Mahia in their opening match of the season while Bandari came from a goal down to beat Sofapaka 2-1 in Mbaraki, Mombasa with the winning goal coming in stoppage time for the hosts.##NAJAVA_MECA_6843609##The Sudi Stadium clash is expected to be a closely fought one. Nzoia have proved to be a difficult side to play against under Salim Babu while, the Dockers, who recruited well during the off-season transfer window are eyeing their maiden league title and are expected to take the fight to Bungoma.There was controversy in the match involving the two sides at Sudi Stadium last season. The Dockers picked a 2-1 win in the game that referee Nyabera Libese awarded four penalties. Each team got two penalties but managed to convert only one in a game and after the game, the match official was put on the spot by both teams.Babu is looking forward to an entertaining match. “I think it will be an entertaining game. Bandari have recruited well, they have a good team at the moment, they also have an excellent technical bench led by coach Anthony Kimani and I think we are in for some good game. On our side, we have prepared well, worked on the few weaknesses that we saw against Gor Mahia and we are looking forward to a great game At Sudi Stadium, I urge our fans to turn out in large numbers,” he stated.𝗠𝗔𝗭𝗢𝗘𝗭𝗜 𝗬𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔🌧️ Mvua imenyesha ✅ ⏳ Muda wa kuvuna miwa ya Nzoia unakaribia 🔥Jumamosi tuna shughuli yetu katika uwanja wa Sudi. 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗸𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶 💪🏾#BandariNiYetu pic.twitter.com/ZJhMiFhHs7— Bandari Football Club (@BandariOfficial) November 24, 2022 Bandari’s Kimani on the other hand expects a challenging game at Sudi; “Playing Nzoia Sugar is never easy because they play good football when at home or away from their backyard, they do not change their game approach, they are fearless. Last season both home and away matches against them were tough and we do not expect things to be different on Saturday. We anticipate a tough game but we are going to do our level best,” he opined.Sofapaka vs Posta RangersAt Ruaraka Grounds, Sofapaka host Posta Rangers who will be playing their first match of the campaign after sitting out of action last weekend where they were set to face off with Mathare United.The Mailmen will be out to kick start their campaign on a high although they have mostly been silent with their pre-season preparations.Batoto Ba Mungu’s tactician David Ouma is adamant that his side will respond to the defeat away to Bandari in the opening round positively and pick points despite the clash being a tough one.##NAJAVA_MECA_6846196##The 2009 champions were the last team to pick a win in this fixture in February 2021, with all the other three encounters that followed ending in a one-all draw each.“The players had a good game last weekend despite going down to Bandari. From my observations from our last match, I am confident of turning around the performance heading into the Rangers tie on Saturday. The two teams have always had a close game, and in the most recent meetings we have always shared points, so I expect a very tough match because they will want to have a good start while we will be aiming to bounce back to winning ways. Nonetheless, we have prepared well, and I expect a good show from the lads,” Ouma said.Misfortune for Sofapaka as talented duo set to miss Rangers gameSofa will be without the duo of Geoffrey Ojunga and David Obasanjo but everyone else is available for selection for the match.“I am glad we don’t have major injury concerns except for Geoffrey Ojunga and David Obasanjo, who are under rehabilitation after being out due to illness and a hip injury, respectively. The rest of the squad members are available, and I hope we don’t experience any problems before the match on Saturday,” he finishedAdditional reporting by Stephen Ochieng and Murimi Njiru
