Will Mathare United rise to the occasion?

Will Mathare United rise again? Or has the club hit the familiar “plateau phase” where less victories and more draws should be expected?

That is the big question as the Slum Boys take on troubled AFC Leopards in Machakos in round 14 of the SportPesa Premier League fixtures on Saturday.

Mathare, who spent the first two months on top of the table, and who at one point opened a five-point lead at the summit, are currently on a sharp decline having failed to win any of their last five matches.

Francis Kimanzi’s boys now find themselves in third place, two points behind leaders Bandari, while they are level on points with champions Gor Mahia who have a game in hand.

Kimanzi and his charges must now come up with a formula to arrest their poor form when they take on equally troubled Leopards. Mathare were held to a barren draw in their last league outing away to Zoo Kericho last weekend, and Kimanzi took Monday off to help national team coach Sebastien Migne to assess the provisional squad for the African Nations Championship.

Mathare quartet of Andrew Juma, Cliff Nyakeya, David Owino and Roy Okal were present at the training, and so was the Ingwe duo of Jaffary Owiti and Whyvonne Isuza.

NYAKEYA RETURNS

Kimanzi confirmed that he has no injury concerns since Nyakeya, who is the club’ top scorer with five goals, is back from injury.

“It will not be an easy match. We all know what has been going on with them (Ingwe) and that makes it interesting because they are known to be quite unpredictable,” the Harambee Stars assistant coach said.

With Gor Mahia not involved in the local action this weekend as they face Algeria's NA Hussein Dey in the Caf Confederation Cup Group D tie, victory will see Mathare return to the summit of the standings should the leaders fail to beat Nzoia Sugar at Mbaraki aslo on Saturday.

Ingwe midfielder Marvin Omondi is still out recuperating after undergoing surgery.

Leopards coach Andre Cassa Mbungo, their third tactician this term, will be hoping his blunt front line led by Marcel Kaheza and Wayi Yeka will fire in the right cylinders while the backline stands tall against a Mathare side that has the second best goal scoring stat in the league with 21 goals, one shy of Sofapaka.

“The team is lacking in confidence because it is now been a four match losing streak. Because of this the fans are agitated but March is not far. When the transfer window opens we shall add more quality to the team and we shall perform better,” said Ingwe’s Rwandan coach Cassa Mbungo.

The Slum Boys will be chasing their first victory against Leopards since 2016, while Leopards will be out to claim their third win over their opponents in eight matches.

Currently lying deep in the relegation zone with a paltry 10 points from 13 matches, Leopards desperately need three points if they are to start turning around their fortunes before it is too late. Victory will take Leopards to 15th should results involving teams around them go their way.

In other league matches, Nicholas Muyoti will make his Kakamega Homeboyz bow when they host Sofapaka at Bukhungu Stadium while Ibrahim Shikanda will face baptism of fire in his first outing as Nzoia Sugar coach when he leads his charges against table toppers Bandari on Saturday.

Posta Rangers will tackle Ulinzi Stars at Kenyatta Stadium in the first match from 2pm before paving way for the Mathare-Leopards showdown which kicks off at 4.15pm.

FIXTURES

Saturday:

Posta Rangers v Ulinzi Stars (Machakos, 2pm)

Chemelil Sugar v KCB (Chemelil Sports Complex, 3pm)

Bandari v Nzoia Sugar (Mbaraki Sports Club, 3pm)

Kakamega Homeboyz v Sofapaka (Bukhungu Stadium, 3pm)

Mathare United v AFC Leopards (Machakos, 4.15pm)

Sunday

Vihiga United v Kariobangi Sharks (Bukhungu Stadium, 3pm)

SoNy Sugar v Western Stima (Awendo, 3pm)

Mount Kenya United v Zoo (Machakos, 3pm)