As the race to clinch the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) title heats up, the scramble to evade relegation or finish in a respectable rank is also an interesting one.Close to teams in the bottom half of the table are in the risk of getting relegated at the end of the campaign and therefore, all the remaining matches matter.Among the teams seeking to avoid the wrath of the axe are Sofapaka and FC Talanta who are expected to lock horns on Monday afternoon at the Kasarani Annex.##NAJAVA_MECA_7187961##Sofapaka are placed 12th on the log with 27 points with Talanta breathing behind their backs with 25 points.The former champions are win-less in the past three rounds having shared points with Ulinzi Stars, and Gor Mahia before losing to Tusker.Talanta on the other hand, will also be looking to return to winning ways after playing AFC Leopards to a barren draw in the past round.Weekend to forget for Anyembe as Viborg falls to Copenhagen in DenmarkAhead of the duel, Talanta winger Michael Jairo says one of the surest ways of escaping relegation was beating the teams that are placed above them“We know we close to the red zone than the top half of the table. We have to win today’s game and go a rank higher,” said the Kariobangi Sharks Youth team product.Sofapaka centre back Stephen Okola shares almost similar thoughts. The youthful defender believes that scoring early and defending as a unit will get the team its seventh win of the season.“This is a game we shouldn’t drop points at all. We have to widen the gap between us and the rest of the teams that are behind our backs. We also need to keep clean sheets going forward,” he offered.Will Kipchoge claim gold in his Boston Marathon debut?The two teams have met thrice from the time Talanta were promoted to the top league with both claiming victory once and the other duel ending evenly.Talanta will be without their centre back Shela Mandela who was ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing skull surgery.
