Defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets continue hunting for TNM Super League points as we welcome Civil Service United at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Bullets anticipate a tough battle as they seek to reclaim their lost glory in the league, which has left us now in position seven in the table after winning only three games out of 11, registering seven draws and one loss, sitting 13 points behind leaders Silver Strikers.
But The People’s Team will look to emulate last Sunday’s FDH Bank Cup Round of 32 result when we thrashed Bangwe All Stars 5-0 to set up a Round of 16 tie against our rivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.
Our opponents are also coming from a comfortable 5-1 win over Chihame Stars in the same competition on Tuesday.
FORM GUIDE
Kalisto Pasuwa’s men were in ruthless mode as we hammered Bangwe 5-0 in the knockout competition, our first victory in all competitions since May when we beat Mzuzu City Hammers 2-0 at home.
The 2023 quadruple winners have had to endure a run of four games without a win, drawing three times and losing once to drop further down in the standings after 11 league games.
Our last fixture in the TNM Super League saw us dropping points as we drew 0-0 away to Kamuzu Barracks on 29 June, before we switched focus to the FDH Bank Cup.
In the league, Civil are coming from a 2-0 home defeat in the Lilongwe derby against Silver Strikers, before they made amends with a 5-1 hammering of Chihame in the FDH Bank Cup on Tuesday.
The Servants are ninth in the table with 14 points from 11 games. They have recorded four wins, two draws and five losses; scoring 13 goals and conceding 14.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The last time the two sides met was in the Airtel Top 8 second-legged tie. Civil came from behind to win 2-1 at Kamuzu Stadium, but we proceeded to the final with a 3-2 victory on aggregate following a 2-0 win in the first-leg match in Lilongwe.
Before that, we had staged a classic TNM Super League comeback to win 3-2 at home where we conceded two goals in 23 minutes to trail 2-1 at half-time. Lanjesi Nkhoma, Ephraim Kondowe and Patrick Mwaungulu responded in the final half to earn us all the points.
Going into Sunday’s match, Bullets have a better record against their opposition in the past decade in which Oscar Kaunda’s side has never beaten The People’s Team in league assignments regardless of where they met.
In our last 16 meetings, it’s only in the 2017, 2022 and 2023 seasons which Civil forced us to drop points.
In the opening round of our quadruple-winning campaign, we shared the spoils after we came from behind to draw 1-1 at Civo Stadium, a result that was followed by that incredible comeback victory in Blantyre.
Bullets v Civil in the last 10 years
In 2014, Bullets hammered the Servants 1-3 at Civo before completing a double that season with a 2-0 home victory in the reverse fixture.
The following year, The People’s Team continued their dominance with yet another 3-1 first-round win at Civo before a 2-1 victory at Kamuzu Stadium in the final fixture.
In 2016, we recorded 1-0 and 2-0 victories over Sunday’s opposition.
The 2017 campaign saw us dropping points following a goalless stalemate at Civo Stadium, but the Servants paid heavily when they suffered a 3-0 defeat at Kamuzu Stadium in the second-round fixture.
The People’s Team kept getting the better of the government-sponsored side when we registered back-to-back 2-1 wins in the 2018 season to claim another double.
It was in the 2019 season when Civil received a heavy beating for the first time in more than a decade when Pasuwa’s charges ran riot at Kamuzu Stadium to register a comfortable 6-0 victory. Bullets went on to claim a double in the second round with a last-minute goal by Chiukepo Msowoya, a strike that saw Bullets inching closer to the league title, Pasuwa’s second in a row.
In the 2020/21 season, Bullets registered another back-to-back 2-1 victories over the Servants.
But in 2022, we collected four out of the possible six points, winning 1-0 in Lilongwe then drew 1-all in Blantyre in the reverse fixture.
In the last league meetings, Bullets have scored 37 goals past Civil, with the opposition scoring 11.
However, this showdown in the opening round of the 2024 campaign will not be determined by previous records, but rather the ability to convert chances into goals as Civil will come hard in search of their first win over Bullets since 2015 when they defeated us 2-1 in the Standard Bank Cup semifinals at Kamuzu Stadium.
TEAM NEWS
Pasuwa will still be without several key players as they continue recovering from injuries, among them defenders Collin Mujuru and Clyde Senaji, midfielder Frank Willard and forward Ephraim Kondowe.
Maxwell Phodo and Chikumbutso Salima are available for selection following their return last Sunday as they featured in our 5-0 thrashing of Bangwe All Stars in the FDH Bank Cup. The duo had been on the sidelines for several weeks after picking injuries in our TNM Super League opening matches in April.
Our top scorer last season, Lanjesi Nkhoma, and our leading scorer this campaign, Patrick Mwaungulu, will also not be available this afternoon as they travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo for their medicals with TP Mazembe today.
KICK-OFF TIME AND HOW TO WATCH THE MATCH
The game is scheduled for 14h30 and you can catch all the action on MBC TV and live streaming is available on FIFA+. You can also catch all the match updates on our Facebook and X (Twitter) channels.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Shaibu Kassim will be in charge of our TNM Super League encounter against the visiting Civil Service United at Kamuzu Stadium this Sunday afternoon.
Referee: Shaibu Kassim
Assistant Referee 1: Pondamali Tembo
Assistant Referee 2: Mussa Grant
Fourth Official: Kesten Mnenula
Match Assessor: Chalvin Ngolanga
