NO ONE IS SAFE! Slippery home stretch for title contenders Villa, KCCA and Vipers

By Denis West

It promises a thrilling photo finish in the Uganda Premier League. With less than six games left, it take one to have prophetic powers to point on the outright favourite amongst KCCA, Vipers and SC Villa. The teams each contender is left to play also make it more complex to make a spot on judgment. Bit by bit; let’s evaluate how each title contender will predictably go through the remaining fixtures.

Vipers has four home ties

Starting this Friday, when Vipers host KCCA, they know that to lift the title aloft, they have to make good use of their remaining four of the six fixtures. Experts predict the grudge match between KCCA and Vipers at St Mary’s Stadium-Kitende to end in a draw. Bearing in mind the first leg ended 3-1 in KCCA’s favour plus the fact that Vipers had dominated the previous four clashes, the game can go either way.

Vipers, still without suspended head coach Miguel Da Costa, will make the short trip to Lugogo to face a Proline side fighting tooth and nail to escape the drop.

Tadeo Lwanga, Duncan Sseninde and Brian Nkuubi scored for Vipers in the first leg 3-0 humbling of Proline at St Mary’s Stadium which gives an impression that it may be an ‘easy’ win for the Venoms.

Vipers’ next assignment will be a revengeful home mission against Police that beat them 2-1 back in October at Namboole. The last time Police visited St Mary’s stadium in February, they lost 3-1 to the hosts in the Uganda Cup. This makes it square for now, and increases every possibility of a draw. Jinja SSS will be waiting for Vipers at Bugembe to avenge the earlier 2-0 loss at Kitende. This tie will prove the most daunting task for Vipers’ title charge after KCCA considering the torrid times they have had in Jinja.

By the time Vipers meet relegation threatened Express in their second last game, a lot might have happened; either the Red Eagles relegation fate will have been sealed or Vipers’ title ambitions will have been dented. But if Express is still in and Vipers are still on course, expect a mouthwatering confrontation at St Mary’s stadium, one that could go either way. Vipers close the season with a home date with UPDF but the unpredictable nature of the soldiers makes it a potential banana skin for the Venoms.

Express tie bothers Jogoos most

This weekend the 16-time winners are in Mbarara town to take on Mbarara City. They fought hard to beat the Ankole Lions 1-0 at Masaka Recreation Grounds which points to another nail biting encounter at Kakyeka. Next up will be two ‘winnable’ home games against Jinja SSS and UPDF and they come at an appropriate time that Villa will want to reinstate their home juggernaut after it was halted by Vipers recently. Then business will come to standstill when they visit archrivals Express at Wankulukuku hoping to replicate the 1-0 victory at Masaka. Villa will hope for ‘easy’ wins over Proline, even if it in an away engagement and a destabilized Bul at Masaka.

KCCA’s experience at this stage matters

After Vipers, KCCA will be looking at going to Wankulukuku to face Express on May 1. It is fixtures against Express at the same venue that Mike Mutebi’s side has secured their last two league triumphs. There is a ‘simple’ bother of Proline, Police and Bright Stars for KCCA to go past if they want to retain the trophy.

Vipers remaining games

KCCA – Home

Proline – Away

Police – Home

Kirinya SSS – Away

Express – Home

UPDF – Home

Villa remaining games

Mbarara city – Away

Kirinya – Home

UPDF – Away

Express – Away