Preview: Murang’a Seal looking to close gap on Shabana

© Murang'a Seal

NSL Preview: Murang’a Seal looking to close gap on Shabana

Festus Chuma 09:30 - 23.04.2023

The Central Kenya side will chase a key win in the league when they face Kisumu All Stars in Kisumu.

Murang’a Seal will have a chance to narrow the gap between themselves and log leaders Shabana to only four points on Sunday afternoon.

Second-placed Seal are playing away in Kisumu, where they meet Kisumu All Stars at Moi Stadium.

Seal can now smell blood as Shabana have dropped five points in their last three games, having lost and won against lowly ranked sides SS Assad and Silibwet though they redeemed their image on Friday with a win against Mombasa Elite.

Vincent Nyamberi’s coached side knows that a victory in Kisumu will pile pressure on the Glamour Boys, as the team from central Kenya still has a game in hand after this fixture.

Nyamberi’s counterpart, Andrew Aroka, will be keen to mastermind the club's eighth victory in the league, having fallen 1-0 to MCF in their previous encounter.

Kisumu All Stars are placed ninth on the log, having collected 26 points from 20 matches, whereas Murang’a Seal have collected 35 points from 18 matches.

This will be the fifth meeting between Murang'a Seal and Kisumu All Stars since the 2020–2021 season.

Seal have claimed three wins compared to one for Blue Eagles, with the last meeting between the two sides have been a walkover that was awarded to Seal after their opponents failed to travel to Murang’a.

Elsewhere, Mara Sugar will entertain Kibera Black Stars in a clash set to be played at the Sudi Stadium on Sunday.

The two teams are separated by a goal difference of seven, and Mara will be hoping for maximum points to keep a close check on the leading pack when they take on the Black Stars.

Mara Sugar will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches having beaten Coast Heroes 3-1 in their last outing.

Their coach Francis Xavier will be eager to guide the Sugar Millers to their tenth win of the season, which would also see the western Kenya side get into third place on the log.

Meanwhile, the Black Stars were held to a 0-0 draw by Vihiga United in their previous match, and they find themselves in fifth place on the log with 31 points from 20 matches.

Mara Sugar are placed sixth on the league standings with the same number of points. The two teams have met two times in the league, with all the encounters ending in draws.

Moving onto other Sunday matches, Naivas FC have a potentially tricky game at home against Coast Heroes. The merchants suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Mwatate United in their last outing, and they will be eager to get back into winning ways.

In Bomet, Darajani Gogo will look to regain their momentum when they face bottom-placed Silibwet Leons in an early kickoff.

In another meeting, Kajiado FC will welcome MCF, and both sides will be looking to rise from their respective positions on the log after slumps in their respective form.

Sunday Fixtures:

Kisumu All Stars FC vs Murang'a Seal FC 

Naivas FC vs Coastal Heroes FC 

Silibwet FC vs Darajani Gogo FC 

Mara Sugar FC vs Kibera Black Stars FC 

Kajiado FC vs MCF FC