Rangers International head into NPFL Matchday 8 with only a one-point cushion at the top, while Rivers United have an opportunity to intensify the title race in a weekend packed with significant fixtures.
Battle at the top
- Rivers United, who are second with 15 points and the league’s strongest goal difference of +11, travel to Aba on Sunday to meet 15th-placed Abia Warriors.
- The Pride of Rivers arrive after defeating Ikorodu City 2-0 and have received a further lift with goalkeeper Ani Ozoemena returning to full training. They will be aiming to protect one of the final two unbeaten records in the division.
- Abia Warriors coach Imama Amapakabo is seeking an immediate reaction from his side after their 3-1 defeat against Rangers. His team will draw confidence from their earlier 3-0 home victory over Bendel Insurance as they attempt to halt the visitors’ title push.
- League leaders Rangers, on 16 points, face a demanding away assignment at the Sani Abacha Stadium against fourth-placed Barau FC.
- Barau are four points behind the Flying Antelopes and have shown their strength in Kano, where they have already beaten both Abia Warriors and Ranchers Bees.
- The Kano club will be determined to recover after Bendel Insurance ended their six-match unbeaten sequence with a 4-1 win.
Top-four race and weekend programme
- Another major contest takes place in Jos, where seventh-placed Plateau United host Kano Pillars, who are sixth. Both teams have collected 11 points, although Pillars hold the edge on goal difference.
- Kano Pillars are the only other team in the league yet to lose, but their progress has been checked by three successive draws. A victory in Jos would be important to the top-four hopes of both sides.
- Third-placed Doma United will seek to remain close to the leading pair when they visit 13th-placed Nasarawa United, having beaten Warri Wolves 1-0 in their previous outing.
- Today’s schedule begins in Lagos, where ninth-placed Ikorodu City welcome eighth-placed Kwara United.
- Seventeenth-placed Ranchers Bees also face 12th-placed Niger Tornadoes.
- Sunday’s other matches include 10th-placed Sporting Lagos at home to fifth-placed Bendel Insurance, while 14th-placed Shooting Stars travel to 19th-placed Kun Khalifat.
- Eighteenth-placed Warri Wolves will take on bottom club Inter Lagos, following last night’s Matchday 8 opener between Katsina United and Enyimba in Katsina.
