Wednesday

Mukura     Vs    APR          15:30

Sunrise      Vs    AS Kigali  15:30

Mukura Victory Sports will be hoping to make the most of home advantage when they host leaders and defending champions APR at Huye Stadium on Wednesday.

The two Azam Rwanda Premier League rivals go head-to-head with more than just three points at stake as Mukura seek to inflict  second successive defeat on APR this season, while the latter will be keen on an away win to tighten their grip on top spot as the title race reaches critical stage.

Victory for the hosts will see them up to second position with 47 points, one adrift of APR, while a win for the military side would crush Mukura’s title prospects as the Huye-based bid for a historic first league title.

The black-and-yellow outfit beat APR 1-0 in the first-leg at Kigali Stadium in January.

Talking to Times Sport on Tuesday, Mukura head coach Francis Haringingo urged his players to ‘be ruthless’ in front of goal and waste no chances when they take on the record 17-time champions.

He said that, "This is a big game. It finds APR in good position as table leaders, but it balances out because we are also the hosts. I believe it is going to be a massive clash.”

"The third spot is not bad, but we need to improve. The target is to get maximum points from each of our remaining so we can move up the table, and hopefully win the league.” Haringingo added.

It will be the second time that Mukura forwards Onesme Twizerimana and Bertrand Iradukunda face their former club in what promises to be a an exciting clash between two teams that love to hate each other.

"Our game with APR is one of the biggest in the country, and we have prepared accordingly. We needed the break to rectify a few mistakes in training and now I feel we’re ready physically and mentally,” Burundi-born tactician Haringingo further noted.

Mukura and APR have not played a single game in the last two weeks as some players from both sides were part of the national team (Amavubi) that lost 3-0 to Ivory Coast in AFCON 2019 qualifiers in Abidjan over the weekend.

His counterpart, Zlatko Krmpotić, admits they expect a tough challenge from a side that is desperate for points, but his team will leave nothing to chance.

"I have not ruled them out of the title race, and certainly they can recover anytime, so we must be careful in our defending and efficient in the attack,” noted Serbian coach Krmpotić.

"We are facing a resilient Mukura team, but we need to win as much as they do. So it’s going to be tough game on both sides.”

Table

No   Team              PG     W      D     L      PTS

1       APR                20      15      03    02     48

2       Rayon            20      14      02    04     44

3       Mukura          20      13      05    02     44

4       Kiyovu           20      10      05    05     35

5       Policec           22      10      04    08     34

6       Espoir            22      09      04    09     31

7       Muhanga       21      07      07    07     28

8       AS Kigali       20      07      06    07     27

9       Sunrise          20      07      05    08     26

10     Marines          22      06      08    08     26

11     Etincelles       22      07      03    12     24

12     Bugesera       21      05      09    07     24

13     Musanze        21      06      05    09     23

14     Gicumbi         22      05      05    12     20

15     Kirehe            22      03      08    11     17

16     Amagaju        22      04       03     15  15

editor@newtimesrwanda.com