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Legon Cities battle city rivals Hearts of Oak - Saturday's Premier League preview

5 months ago
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Legon Cities v Hearts of Oak – 15:00 GMT, StarTimes Adepa channel 247

Legon Cities welcome Hearts of Oak to the Theatre of Dreams in Dawu for a battle of epic proportions on matchday-27 of the Ghana Premier League on Saturday.

The Phobians got back to winning ways last weekend, recording a comeback 3-1 win over Karela United at the Accra Sports Stadium to jump to 9th on the league table.

Legon Cities have managed to glean 32 points from 26 matches, leaving them 13th on the table, having won 2, drawn 1 and suffered 2 defeats in their last 5 outings.

Coach Samuel Kwesi Fabin’s side have picked 24 points at home in this campaign,  scoring 14 and conceding 10 goals in 12 league home games.

The Royals are unbeaten in their last 8 home league games heading into this fixture in Dawu on Saturday.

Hearts of Oak have lost their last two consecutive away league encounters -suffering the setback at leaders FC Samartex 1996 and defending champions Medeama SC.

Ahead of the game, the Phobians have amassed 12 points, scoring 10, conceding 14 league goals and are ranked as the 4th best away side in the league this season.

The Accra giants have recorded 35 points from 26 games and lie 9th on the league table.

Legon Cities have played Hearts of Oak three times at home in the league since 2020/21 season with Cities winning one, drawing one and losing one.

In the 2020/21 season, Legon Cities suffered a 1-2 defeat to Hearts of Oak, drew 1-1 in the 2021/22 season before recording a 1-0 victory in the 2022/23 season.

Kwabena Boateng, Rahim Abdul, Akatuk Fredrick, Frank Akoto, Stephen Appiah Asare, Samuel Frimpong, Morris Fuseini, Mohammed Suleman, Kamal Suraje and Joseph Mireku are all available for Legon Cities.

Premier League top scorer Hamza Issah will lead the attack for the visitors after his brace heroics against Karela United last weekend.

The likes of Linda Mtange, Glid Otanga, Ibrahim Salifu, Yaw Baafi, Kofi Agbesimah, Micheal Ampadu, Enock Asubonteng, Kassim Cisse, Denis Korsah and Thomas Winimi are all fit and available for selection.

Karela United v Accra Lions – 15:00 GMT

Karela United return home to battle Accra Lions on matchday-27 of the Ghana Premier League as they fight to avoid the drop.

The Pride and Passion are without a win in two matches following defeats at Bibiani GoldStars FC and Hearts of Oak.

The Northern-based side lost 3-2 at Bibiani against GoldStars FC before succumbing to a 3-1 defeat in the Ghanaian capital, Accra against giants Hearts of Oak.

United have accumulated 30 points from 26 matches and lie at a precarious 16th position, having won 2 and suffered 3 defeats in their last 5 league games.

The Tamale based club have managed to accumulate 24 points, scoring 14 and conceding 10 league goals in 13 home games played so far.

Karela United head into the game with a 100 percent win record in their last 4 home league encounters.

Lions, who have recorded 3 wins and suffered two defeats in their last 5 matches,  lie 5th on the table with 39 points.

They have lost their last two away matches.

Karela United have played Accra Lions twice at home in the league since the 2021/22 season with Karela United winning one and losing one.

In the 2021/22 season,  Karela United beat Accra Lions 3-0 before recording a 1-2 defeat in the 2022/23 season.

Emmanuel Anaful, Giyasu Ibrahim, Mohammed Asigre, Mohammed Awal, Humid Dafie, Umar Faruk, Abdul-Raman Yaya, Abdul Latif, Nasiru Abdul Karim, Solomon Aboagye, Rashid Alhassan, Hafiz Abdulai and Fatawu Mohammed all fit and available for selection  for Karela United on Saturday.

Accra Lions are expected to unleash their in-form striker Mohammed Yahaya as well as Blessing Dankwah, Dominic Amponsah, Baba Salifu Apiigah and Daniel Awuni against the Pride and Passion.