The penultimate round of the 2024/25 FKF National Super League (NSL), scheduled for Saturday 14, will serve some top fixtures across the country.Follow our WhatsApp channel for more newsWhile the relegation battle intensifies, the race for promotion equally rages on, with promotion chasers facing each other.The clash between Fortune Sacco and Darajani Gogo will be the key of those contests.Elsewhere, the mid table comprising teams that have either given up on chasing a promotion slot, or merely celebrating staying up and away from the drop zone, will also have a few juicy clashes.##NAJAVA_MECA_8972604##Luanda Villa playing hosts to Vihiga United is no doubt the key of these matches as the arch rivals face-off at the Mumboha Grounds in Luanda.Both teams, though just fighting for pride’s sake, have declared Saturday to be a no holds barred bare knuckle bout. George Odiwour once played for United in the same division before moving to Kakamega Homeboyz where he spent nearly a decade in the top flight.Kenyan forward secures three-month trial with Swedish sideSaturday finds him captaining Villa and he knows the immensity of the match.‘’ It is more than a normal match for us because it is a derby. We would like to win it and keep the respect,’’ he says, adding that even though their weekend opponents have had their share of trouble in the season, they can never be ruled out. ‘’United are a good side and they always fight even when things are not going well in their camp. We have to approach the tie cautiously,’’ added the centre back.TACTICAL ANALYSIS: Harambee Stars’ fluid strategy that troubled ChadBoth teams come into the clash on the back of losses; United falling short at home against Kibera Black Stars while Villa taking a narrow 1-0 loss at the hands of Migori Youth on the road.Patrick Okullo, long-serving captain at United says the derby must count for something. ‘’It would not only be nice to end the season with wins, but also a win in the derby always brings about a good feeling. It will not be an easy match. They know us, we know them and most of the players on either side have played together and against each other many times,’’ says Okullo, who played in the midfield alongside Odiwour at United a decade ago in the lower tiers. Kenyans react to Benni McCarthy’s first win as Harambee Stars coachVilla are in 11th position on the log while United follow closely at 12th.Even though each winning the same number of matches (11) and drawing the same (9), their points difference is as a result of United losing one match more than Villa.Edward ‘Ondimo’ Omondi on how FKFPL fame has changed his life in DandoraCoach Milton Kidiga’s men have played one more match and Okullo wants this to change on Saturday. ‘’We are coming into the tie on the back of two losses so something must change and I trust my teammates to rise to the occasion on Saturday,’’ adds the midfielder.Odiwour on the other hand takes his first season at Villa as a welcome back to a division he last featured in more than half a decade ago.Wanyama backs Kenya to host FIFA World Cup in futureWhile admitting that they slumped in the second leg, the libero understands the team’s ambitions.‘’We have not had the best of runs in the second leg but we take this season as a rebuilding period because a lot of groundwork has been done by the management and the technical bench. Everyone here believes it will be realistic to aim for the overall title next season and earn promotion into the top flight,’’ he concludes. The two rival Vihiga siblings will face off from 3PM at the Mumboha Grounds in Luanda on Saturday.
