By SANDRA MWILA –
MTN-FAZ league defending champions Zanaco hosts Power Dynamos in a delayed Week-15 fixture at Sunset Stadium with whatever outcome of this match sure present a new league leader.
While Zanaco need to win to go top and displace leaders Green Buffaloes on goal difference, Power Dynamos can do with a draw to go top on goal difference or a win to take them two points clear.
Zambia Army side GreenBuffaloes lead the table 47 points, one better than second placed Power and three clear of fourth placed Zanaco.
Coming off an embarrassing 4-0 defeat away to Nkana, Zanaco go into this game looking to redeem themselves but the prospects at hand in another Kitwe giant is one they would have loved to avoid.
While fans went about that, Zanaco had four starting players away on national duty, Zanaco coach Numba Mumamba cares less about that and is still going into battle with his same team that got humbled.
Zanaco is without captain Ziyo Tembo, Augustine Mulenga, Ernest Mbewe and Toaster Nsabata away to Algeria with the national team.
The fact Zanaco has risen this high after losing about half the starting team in the off season, means they can not be ruled out at any point with Mumamba still expected to rely on under-20 Mangani Banda in goal in the absence of Nsabata
Power, who are coming off a barren drawagainst stubborn Green Eagles, will see their coach Dan Kabwe return to Sunset Stadium, more than 10 years after he left the club he helped win their first league title.
Power will be without their first-choice goalkeeper Allan Chibwe and striker Alex Ng’onga.
Kabwe said they had planned for Zanaco well and his ultimate goal is tocarry the three points back to Kitwe, which will come with the top spot on the log.
He said it will be interesting to face Zanaco a fortnight before meeting them again on the quarter-finals of the 2017 Barclays Cup.
“We respect Zanaco, they are represented the country well in the CAFChampions League but we have also planned well for them,” Kabwe said.