NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 7 – AFC Leopards head coach Thomas Trucha will be looking to guide his team back to winning ways in the FKF Premier League, hoping to pick the bounce off last weekend’s victory over Shabana FC in the FKF Cup.
Leopards were beaten 1-0 by Tusker FC in their last league duel, dampening their hopes of squeezing into the top five, but Ingwe take on relegation fighting Sofapaka to bring that dream back to life.
Trucha does not expect an easy tie against Batoto ba Mungu, despite their struggles in the bottom half of the log. Batoto ba Mungu came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Bungoma Stars in the FKF Cup last weekend in Kisumu and Trucha says this shows the character of the team they are going to face.
“They are not a team that gives up and it will not be easy. They have a lot of individual quality in that team and we can’t afford to approach the game lightly,” the tactician said.
He adds; “Our ambition in the league is to take each game at a time and treat it like a final. We can’t really out a target on where we want to finish but we want to go a step a day.”
Leopards are on 34 points, eighth in the league, and victory will push them to within a point of seventh placed Kakamega Homeboyz.
Sofapaka are 15th in the standings with 36 points, one ahead of the play-off spot currently occupied by Muhoroni Youth. Zedekiah Otieno’s men will be desperate for victory to pull them further away from the red zone.
A win will see them climb to 14th spot ahead of FC Talanta, if the latter doesn’t pick a win against Police FC in the late kick off on Sunday in Machakos.
Talanta have struggled this season and have not won in the last five matches, with four consecutive draws.
They come up against a Police side seeking a top three finish this season, and also with an outside chance of challenging for the league title. Police fourth in the standings with 39 points, and a win takes them a point closer to the top three and nine behind leaders Gor Mahia.
