Simba , Yanga meet in a tricky league tie

Dar es Salaam. It is a tricky encounter as two Dar es Salaam giants, Young Africans (Yanga) and Simba, clash in the Mainland Tanzania Premier League at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

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

There has also been bragging among the supporters of the giants as to who will emerge victorious in the eagerly-awaited encounter.

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

In their recent matches, records show that Yanga managed to win 2-1 on August 13 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the Community Shield encounter and before that, the Jangwani Street men won 1-0 in the Azam Federation Cup semifinal match held at the CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza.

Since 2020, Simba have not recorded victory over Yanga in the Mainland Tanzania Premier League matches. The record shows that on January 4, 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 April 20, 2022, the teams recorded a barren draw.

It is also a litmus test for Simba’s acting head coach Juma Mgunda, who will be leading his team for the first time against their bitter rivals, who will be under Tunisian tactician Nasreddine Nabi.

The Reds of Msimbazi, as they are popularly known, will likely be under their deadly striker, Moses Phiri, who possibly be assisted by Clatous Chama, Kibu Dennis, Pape Ousmane Sakho and Augustine Okrah 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 will celebrate the whole evening.

So far Mgunda 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 Tanzanian 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.

Feisal Salum, Fiston Mayele, Khalid Aucho, Tuisila Kisinga, Stephane Aziz and Yannick Bangala are expected to play today.

Different from other matches, this derby has impact on the title race as Simba lead the league standings with 13 points after playing five matches while Yanga have the same 13 points, but are placed second due to goal scoring average.