After a month on the road, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets return to Kamuzu Stadium for our first-leg tie against Civil Service United in the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon.
The highly-anticipated clash marks the beginning of the seventh edition of this competition, involving the top eight teams from the previous Super League of Malawi campaign.
It’s an important fixture for Kalisto Pasuwa’s men who are coming from a disappointing 3-2 penalty shootout loss to surrender the FDH Bank Cup to Blue Eagles in the capital a fortnight ago, a few days after bowing out of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The 2023 quadruple winners have also had a tough run in the opening half of the TNM Super League campaign, currently sitting ninth in the standings after 16 games and 20 points behind league leaders Silver Strikers, who have 44 points from 18 matches.
FORM GUIDE
We are coming from a disappointing run of form in which we got knocked out of the CAF Champions League at the hands of Zambian champions, Red Arrows, losing 3-2 on aggregate following a two-legged first preliminary round. Bullets won 2-1 in Lilongwe before suffering a 2-0 defeat away in Lusaka.
Then, we rested for a few days before proceeding to Lilongwe for the FDH Cup final which was decided through post-match penalties after a goalless stalemate against the second tier Chipiku Central Region Football League’s Blue Eagles, despite us creating plenty of goal-scoring chances in regulation time.
The international break allowed Pasuwa’s charges to regroup before Saturday’s encounter.
As for our opponents, they lost 1-0 to Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the league, but they bounced back in style with a convincing 3-0 win over Mzuzu City Hammers to go into the break with relief.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
We have been unbeaten in the league against Civil for the last 13 seasons, but we have had two defeats at the hands of The Servants in cup competitions.
In the last ten years, the Lilongwe-based side has become a familiar opponent in knockout competitions as we have met them five times.
Our first meeting was in 2015 in the Standard Bank Cup semifinals at Kamuzu Stadium where James Chilapondwa, now the Bullets team manager, had given the hosts a first-half lead before Raphael Phiri scored two quick goals in the second half to inspire them to a memorable victory over The People’s Team.
In 2023, we met three times. The first meeting was the first quarterfinal leg of the Airtel Top 8 away at Civo Stadium.
A strike each from Maxwell Phodo and Hassan Kajoke inspired Bullets to a comfortable 2-0 win over our opponents. However, the battle was far from over as Civil staged a stunning comeback in the second leg, beating Pasuwa’s men 2-1. We progressed to the semis with a 3-2 aggregate win over Abbas Makawa’s men.
The two teams met again in the Castel Challenge Cup round of 16, a few days after Pasuwa’s charges had retained the TNM Super League championship, winning it for a fifth consecutive season.
We showed Civil no mercy, hammering them 3-0 to advance to the last eight of the competition in its inaugural season.
In the 2024 FDH Bank Cup quarterfinals, Bullets needed a last-minute strike from substitute Precious Phiri to beat their opponents 1-0 to advance to the next stage.
On Saturday, we go again, meeting them in the first leg of another knockout competition where the winner will go into the second leg with confidence.
TEAM NEWS
There is a massive boost for The People’s Team as midfielder Ernest Petro is available for selection after being on the sidelines for almost a month due to an ankle injury he sustained during our 2-0 away win over Bangwe All Stars in the league.
However, striker Anthony Mfune, defender Alick Lungu, midfielder Mike Mkwate and goalkeeper Clever Mkungula are still recovering from their long-term injuries.
The trio of Lungu, Mkungula and Mkwate has started undergoing light training while Mfune is expected to undergo surgery on his leg after he got injured in our 3-0 win over FOMO FC.
KICK-OFF TIME AND HOW TO WATCH THE MATCH
The opening match of the 2024 Airtel Top 8 edition is scheduled for 14h30 and you can catch all the action live on Mpira TV and MBC TV. It will also be streamed on FIFA+. You can also catch all the match updates on our Facebook and X (Twitter) channels.
MATCH OFFICIALS
For the first time in six years, Misheck Juba, who officiated our controversial final against Blue Eagles in the same competition in Lilongwe in 2018, returns to take charge of this tie.
Referee: Misheck Juba
Assistant Referee 1: Pondamali Tembo
Assistant Referee 2: Steve Nyirenda
Fourth Official: Idrissa Kapinga
Match Commissioner: Patrick Mbalati
