The TNM Super League resumes this weekend after the international break and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets travel to Lilongwe for an away clash with Kamuzu Barracks at Civo Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
On our fourth trip to the capital in the current league campaign, the defending champions will be aiming to collect all the points to keep pace with current log leaders Silver Strikers who have a game on Sunday.
Ahead of our tenth fixture this season, we look at how our opponents have performed so far…
Their stats
Alick Chirwa’s side has had a very difficult start to their 2023 campaign from which they have only registered three wins and two draws, and have been beaten four times.
KB started the journey with a goalless draw away to Ekwendeni Hammers on the first day of this term.
Then they travelled to Dedza where they lost 3-2 to Dedza Dynamos. The military side scored their consolation goals through Kelvin Hang’anda and Chimwemwe Chisambi.
Chirwa’s soldiers then hosted Moyale Barracks at Civo Stadium. They were in desperate need of all the points, but at the end of 90 minutes, Gasten Simkonda’s first-half strike condemned them to yet another loss.
It was a third straight defeat for the Chiwoko military side, failing to continue from where they stopped in the previous season when they finished as bronze medalists behind Bullets and Blue Eagles.
Our Saturday opponents registered their first win of the season in week four with a 4-0 hammering of rookies Extreme FC at their base. They scored through Zeliat Nkhoma, Chisambi, Helbert Wayekha and Hang’anda.
For the first time this season, they recorded back-to-back victories as they defeated another struggling army team, Red Lions, through a lone goal from Nkhoma.
Their next fixture was away to Blue Eagles in Matchweek six and they salvaged a point at Nankhaka, thanks to a second-half equalizer from veteran striker Deus Mkutu.
The soldiers then lost 1-0 to Civil Service United, a result that saw them dropping further in the standings, and by the time they faced Silver, they were just three points above safety.
Stain Davie’s first-half strike was enough to condemn KB to another defeat at the hands of the Central Bankers, their fourth defeat in eight matches.
But they were allowed to bounce back when they hosted Bangwe All Stars before the international break. Chisambi and Hang’anda were on the scoresheet, collecting points with a comfortable 2-0 victory.
The result saw the 2016 league winners moving into 8th position with eleven points from nine games.
Kamuzu Barracks have scored ten goals and conceded eight in the league this spell.
Three days before hosting us, they travelled to Karonga for the FDH Bank Cup round-of-32 fixture against Karonga United and progressed to the last-16, courtesy of first-half strikes from Hang’anda and Chisambi.
How they have performed against Bullets at Civo
The two teams’ last two games at Civo Stadium belonged to Maule.
In the 2020/21 season, Bullets defeated the soldiers 3-0 through Misheck Seleman, Hassan Kajoke and Chimwemwe Idana’s strikes. The win officially sealed the third league title for The People’s Team after we nearly bottled it out following a 1-0 defeat to Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the aftermath of a 1-1 draw to Mafco FC.
In the 2022 season, Kalisto Pasuwa’s men bagged full points through a late second-half strike from Babatunde Adepoju.
The only defeat for Bullets to KB came in the 2019 season through a second-half strike from Ndaona Daisi. The match was dominated mainly by the visitors but their failure to convert chances into goals allowed the soldiers to use the only realistic opportunity they got on that day.
During our pre-season friendly, the hosts were trailing before they equalised at the stroke of the hour-mark to cancel Righteous Banda’s 48th-minute strike.
How KB has performed at Civo this season
From the statistics, Kamuzu Barracks have won three out of the six games played at Civo Stadium this campaign, defeating Extreme FC 4-1, Red Lions 1-0 and Bangwe All Stars 2-0 and have lost to Moyale, Civil and Silver with 1-0 margins.
Their dangerous men on the field
Soccer fanatics are assured of an exciting and entertaining game whenever KB hosts The People’s Team. The Lilongwe side has mastered the art of playing at Civo Stadium and they up their game against the defending champions.
Going by their scorer’s chart, Saturday’s hosts have four different scorers, but Chisambi and Hang’anda are their top men. The duo has scored six of the ten goals the soldiers have scored this season, each with three goals to his name.
Two first-half strikes from the duo also inspired their FDH Bank Cup victory over Karonga United midweek.
KB’s attacking threats
They have a height advantage through their attacking players. At times, they use secondary balls to capitalize on their aerial abilities. Nkhoma, Hang’anda and Mkutu are good at scoring goals through dead-ball situations.
Chirwa also has Patrick Phiri in the midfield who is good at what he does. The former Ekwendeni Hammers defending midfielder controls the midfield duels and is also good at recoveries whenever they are not in possession.
KB is a team that doesn’t sit back, they build from the back and go into the offensive zones.
