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Four Big Football Matches on Sunday, Get The Full Previews Here
CityMirrorNews previews the top four matches for football fans on Sunday.
Rivers United v Club African @YakubuGowon Stadium @4pm on July 2
Group A of the 2017 CAF Confederations Cup has all four teams deadlocked on six points each as all teams have won all their home matches. Goals difference might be the difference at the end of the group stage, which means Rivers United need to get another win before their last match away to FUS Rabat next Friday. In their last match in this competition, United were so dominant in the first 25 minutes that it was improbable that they only scored two goals. On Sunday, they need to score more to enhance their fate in the group. The North Africans will surely play on the counter but will start the game very determined to get the first goal.
Current Form: Rivers Utd [W-W-L-W-L]; Club Africain [W-W-L-W-L]
Head to head
14/05/17 CCC Club Africain 3 – 1 Rivers United
Prediction: Rivers United 3-1 Club Africain
Akwa United v Enyimba @GodswillAkpabio Stadium @4pm on July 2
This oriental derby would have great ramifications for the league standing of both teams. Enyimba demolished El Kanemi 4-0 in their last match and are seven points off leaders, Plateau United. Akwa are just a point behind the Elephants and have yet to lose a home match this season; winning 10 of 13 and they also have their 11-goal midfielder, Ibrahim Alhassan as a veritable source of goals.
Current Form: Akwa Utd [D-W-W-L-W]; Enyimba [W-L-W-D-W]
Head to head
09/02/17 NPF Enyimba 1 – 0 Akwa Utd
27/08/16 NPF Enyimba 2 – 1 Akwa Utd
24/04/16 NPF Akwa Utd0 – 1 Enyimba
05/08/15 NPF Akwa Utd2 – 2 Enyimba
08/03/15 NPF Enyimba 0 – 0 Akwa Utd
Prediction: Akwa United 1-2 Enyimba
El Kanemi Warriors v Plateau Utd @4pm@El Kanemi Stadium on July 2
Will the NPFL leaders escape unscathed from Maiduguri? If they do, then Kennedy Boboye and his boys would have taken a giant step towards ending the season as winners. In 13 home matches, the Warriors have won 12 and drawn one – scoring 22 goals in that sequence and conceding only four. Plateau United have been on top of the league table for the majority of the season and that has been in part because of their two away wins and five draws – the best away record in the league.
Current Form: El Kanemi [L-W-L-D-L]; Plateau [W-L-W-W-L]
Head to head
08/02/17 NPF Plateau Utd 2 – 0 El Kanemi
25/09/16 NPF El Kanemi 1 – 0 Plateau Utd
15/05/16 NPF Plateau Utd 1 – 1 El Kanemi
Prediction: El Kanemi 2-1 Plateau United
Chile v Germany @Stadion Krestovskyi @7pm on July 2
Why any country would want to win this tournament is above me. This is because no country having won this tournament has gone on to do well in the World Cup just 12 months afterward. In any case, on Sunday, there will be a new winner between two first-time finalists – Chile and Germany. There have been eight duels between the two countries with Germany triumphant on five occasions. The last time Chile beat Germany was 1968 – long before all of the players in the present squad were born; so that should not be a militating factor. But will the young German team, shorn of its more seasoned pros beat the fluid-like harmony of the Chileans, who have been together for almost a decade?
Current Form: Chile [DW-D-D-W-L]; Germany [W-W-D-W-W]
Head to head
22/06/17 COC Germany 1 – 1 Chile
05/03/14 FRI Germany 1 – 0 Chile
20/06/82 FWC Chile 1 – 4 Germany
14/06/74 FWC Germany 1 – 0 Chile
18/12/68 FRI Chile 2 – 1 Germany
Prediction: Chile 2-1 Germany
