It is a clash of NBC Premier League heavyweights today

Dar es Salaam. After a lot of bragging among the fans of traditional rivals Simba and Young Africans (Yanga), finally the two teams meet today at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

It is a tricky encounter for the giants who clash in the Mainland Tanzania Premier League.

The encounter has been scheduled to kick-off at 5pm and both coaches of the teams have bragged to come out with a good result.

It will be the 110th meeting in the league between the two teams since 1965. Of 109 matches played, Yanga registered 38 wins against Simba’s 31 and 40 draws.

Yanga also scored 113 goals against Simba’s 101 in their head-to-head. The Jangwani Street men scored 154 points against Simba’s 133.

Yanga, who are the defending champions, will likely target to maintain their supremacy over Simba who, on their part, will aim to take revenge on their traditional rivals.

In their last league encounter played on November 13, 2022, the two teams recorded a 1-1 draw at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

Records show that Simba are yet to earn victory over Yanga since 2019 in the Mainland Premier League matches.

According to the records, on January 4, 2020, the teams drew 2-2 before Yanga winning 1-0 on March 8, 2020 and on November 7, 2020, the teams recorded a 1-1 draw.

Yanga also managed to win 1-0 over Simba on July 3 and on December 11, 2021 and on April 20, 2022, the teams recorded a barren draw.

It is also a litmus test for Simba’s head coach Roberto Oliviera alias Robertihno, who will be leading his team for the first time against their bitter rivals.

The Reds of Msimbazi, as they are popularly known, will likely be led by their deadly striker, Jean Baleke, who will possibly be assisted by Clatous Chama, Kibu Dennis, Pape Ousmane Sakho and Saido Ntibazonkiza while the midfield department will likely be under Mzamiru Yassin and Sadio Kanoute.

The matches between Yanga and Simba are usually a battle of wits as today’s. Their games sometimes make some of their fans cry on their way back home while others celebrate the whole evening.

So far Robertinho seems to have imparted a new culture to the Reds, who believe in themselves and look well-focused.

Their 4-4-2 formation seems to be working well for the Brazilian tactician, although he sometimes switches to 4-3-3 in a game.

It is a formation that works perfectly as the Msimbazi Street team’s backline has been impressive and quite solid.

Yanga, under the tutelage of Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi, have been using the 4-4-2 formation that usually produces desired results.

Yanga’s players Fiston Mayele, Kennedy Musonda, Clement Mzize, Khalid Aucho, Tuisila Kisinda, Stephane Aziz and Yannick Bangala are expected to play today.

Different from other matches, this derby has impact on the title race as Yanga lead the league standings with 68 points after playing 25 matches while Simba have 60 points from the same number of points.