Gor Mahia host Tunisia’s Esperance at Nyayo Stadium today as AFC Leopards play SuperSport in Pretoria

In his absence, coach Bobby Williamson has three options with Israel Emuge, Kevin Oluoch and Haron Shakava tipped to start.

Of the three, however, Emuge has the biggest chance to start given his experience and huge frame that will be key in stopping Esperance.

However, the Ugandan is a bit slow and Shakava, though lacking in experience, remains a better option. Oluoch is also inexperienced and does not have the necessary build to stop Esperance strikers.

scoring instinct

While Williamson will have problems replacing Owino, he has no such worries in midfield, with plenty of options in Rama Salim, Shaban Kenga and Anthony Akumu. Kevin Omondi is also back after recovering from an injury and is likely to feature in this match.

Upfront Ugandan striker Dan Sserunkuma and George Odhiambo must utilise their scoring instinct to give the home side victory.

Today’s match evokes memories of 1987, when Gor Mahia edged out their opponents to win the Mandela Cup. However, Esperance coach Ruud Krol insists that is just history and will have no impact on the match.

“We respect Gor Mahia and remember that they beat Esperance in 1987. However, that happened a long time ago and will have no bearing on this match,” the coach said.

In South Africa, AFC Leopards coach James Nandwa is facing a bigger crisis following the absence of three key players.  The three include left back Abdalla Juma, Allan Wanga and Peter Opiyo.

In the absence of the three players, Nandwa will be forced to jiggle around his squad. In Juma’s place, Nandwa is likely to start with Leonard Saleh in this position.

Saleh may lack the free-kick taking skills of Juma, but he is very stable at the back and this is what Leopards will need as they seek to pick positive results away. Upfront, he can easily deploy Mike Khamati, Noah Wafula or Jacob Keli in search for goals, with Paul Were back to support the front men.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Nandwa said he was worried about their opponents’ compact midfield that could give his side problems on counter-attack.

“This is their strongest point. They are very compact and we must look for a way to stop them here,” said the coach.

This is the first official meeting between Leopards and SuperSport United on the continent and no side can therefore be said to have an advantage, except that the hosts are starting at home and must make maximum use of that to make the return match a mere formality.

Senegalese international Mame Niang is the most lethal striker on the side and scored a brace for SuperSport United in the preliminary stage.