After playing three consecutive TNM Super League games at home, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets are in the Northern Region for two assignments against Baka City and Mzuzu City Hammers.
The People’s Team will start away in Karonga, where we will be hosted by Baka City on Sunday. We will then stop in Mzuzu for our second fixture against Mzuzu City Hammers at Mzuzu Stadium on Wednesday.
We preview the first game against Kondwani Mwalweni’s men.
FORM GUIDE
For the first time in the second round, Kalisto Pasuwa’s men managed two back-to-back league victories, beating Chitipa United 4-2 and Creck Sporting Club 3-2 to move up to seventh position in the standings.
With seven wins from 19 games, the defending champions will be looking to get maximum points over the relegation-threatened side as we keep pushing up the table. A win will see us moving closer to the top four.
At this stage last season, Bullets led the table with 40 points, scored 35 goals, and conceded 10. In this campaign, the Malawi champions are seventh in the table, finding the back of the net 26 times and letting in 15 goals.
Travelling up North, Baka poses another threat to the 2023 quadruple-winners, who recently lost to another relegation-threatened side, Bangwe All Stars, 1-0.
Anchoring the log table, the Karonga-based rookies have one win in 21 games, losing 15, and have registered five draws. They have only scored nine goals and conceded 54, the highest number of goals conceded by a Super League side in the last four seasons after that number of games.
They were recently humiliated by Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, losing 10-0 in Blantyre before they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Bangwe ahead of our encounter.
But despite these records, when it comes to Bullets, every team wants to make a name for themselves. As Pasuwa said in his recent interviews, “Even a social team can give us a torrid time because we are Bullets. Every team wants to beat us, and we shouldn’t relax thinking these teams are struggling. They struggle against other teams but not against Bullets.”
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the second meeting between the two teams following the arrival of our Sunday opponents into the TNM Super League. The first-round tie against Baka ended 2-1 in favour of Bullets, who had to come from behind to claim all the points at Kamuzu Stadium.
TEAM NEWS
The team has no new injuries, and Pasuwa will welcome back Kenyan centre-half Clyde Senaji, who missed our two home games against Chitipa and Creck.
Lloyd Aaron is also expected to return to the team after missing Wednesday’s game due to sickness. Pasuwa will also welcome back Crispin Mapemba, who has also been on the sidelines for several weeks.
Alick Lungu, Clever Mkungula, and Mike Mkwate are still undergoing rehabilitation from long-term injuries. Anthony Mfune is expected to undergo surgery on his knee, and Ephraim Kondowe continues working on his fitness and will not be part of the trip to the North.
KICK-OFF TIME AND HOW TO WATCH THE MATCH
The game, scheduled for 15h00, will be streamed live on FIFA+. You can also catch all the match updates on our Facebook and X (Twitter) channels.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Rose Zimba
Assistant Referee 1: Piason Kamanga
Assistant Referee 2: Solomon Silobode
Fourth Official: Misheck Juba
Match Assessor: Kalyoto Ngosi
