HARARE giants Dynamos welcome back top marksman Christian Joel Ntouba Epoupa from a two-match suspension when they clash with Harare City at the National Sports Stadium today.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
In Epoupa’s absence, Dynamos dropped priceless points, losing 1-0 to defending champions CAPS United before sharing the points with relegation threatened Shabanie Mine in Zvishavane on Thursday.
The big Cameroonian, the main reason why the Glamour Boys are contenders for the 2017 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title, was red-carded for head-butting Highlanders defender Peter Muduhwa last month.
Dynamos have not won a league match since the one-all draw with Bosso, collecting two points out of a possible nine as the season enters the home stretch.
DeMbare coach Lloyd Mutasa could not hide his relief at the return of his gunman.
“We obviously missed him, he is a vital member of the team. Epoupa has been scoring consistently and his coming back makes our strike force more lethal and we hope he will quickly get down to business on Sunday [today],” Mutasa told Standardsport.
Epoupa is currently tied with CAPS United’s Dominic Chungwa at the top of the goal scoring charts with 11goals, while Black Rhinos striker Lot Chiwunga is tied in second place with former Bantu Rovers forward Bukhosi Sibanda with 10 goals.
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In the reverse fixture, Dynamos beat Harare City by a solitary goal at the same venue and the former champions will be looking forward to completing a double and maintain their place at the top of the log standings.
“I think we are ready, we have prepared well and we are looking to get a positive result so that we can maintain our position at the top. We played a high intensity game in Zvishavane a couple of days ago and we gave the players a day off so they would recover in time for this crucial encounter,” Mutasa said.
A win in Zvishavane would have seen Dynamos enter this weekend’s round of matches with a three point cushion at the top of the log. Dynamos will, however, have to do the job without Obey Mwerahari, Carlos Rusere, Musa Madhiri and Godfrey Mukambi, who are all injured.
Despite their financial muscle, Harare City has failed to recover from a poor start to the season under Mike “Dread” Madzivanyika and have flirted with relegation since.
However, since Philani Ncube took over in May, the Sunshine City Boys have collected crucial points and needed a last-gasp Wilfred Muvirimi goal to collect maximum points at home to Chapungu in a midweek fixture.
In 12th place, Harare City are four points above the relegation zone and odds favour them to survive the dreaded chop.
A head-to-head comparison shows that Ncube’s men have always struggled against Dynamos and have only beaten their more illustrious rivals once in 11 attempts since promotion in 2013.
Dynamos have won seven times while three matches have ended in a stalemate.
