Defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets are in the Northern Region for the second time this season to face Moyale Barracks at Mzuzu Stadium on Monday afternoon.
Initially, the match was supposed to be played on Sunday, but the Super League of Malawi shifted the game to next week due to the unavailability of the facility.
Nevertheless, this is an important fixture for Kalisto Pasuwa’s me, who are six points behind the current leaders, Silver Strikers, and winning this game will see them keeping pace with Peter Mponda’s side.
The Central Bankers are now 22 points at the top of the table after they opened a nine-point gap over the 2023 quadruple winners following a 4-2 victory over Karonga United on Saturday.
At this stage last season, The People’s Team had 17 points and travelling to Moyale, Bullets will be hoping to continue their winning record at Mzuzu Stadium as they are unbeaten in their last two visits.
Pasuwa’s men defeated the Lions of Kaning’ina 2-1 and Mzuzu City Hammers 2-0 in the 2022 season.
On Monday, we will face a Moyale side that sits ninth in the standings with nine points from two wins, four draws and a loss.
FORM GUIDE
Moyale started the 2024 campaign with a 2-1 beating of Mafco FC at home through Charles Nkhoma and Raphael Phiri to start their campaign on a good note.
Their second assignment was a trip away to the Capital City where they were welcomed by Creck Sporting Club. The Mzuzu-based side gave away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to the rookies. Pritchard Mwansa’s men found the back of the net through Aaron Chilipa’s Own Goal and Prince Phiri’s strike.
They returned to Mzuzu Stadium where they hosted Civil Service United. The soldiers went on a rampage to hammer their opponents 3-0 courtesy of a strike each from Phiri, Nkhoma and Chifundo Damba.
The following week they welcomed Dedza Dynamos in a match they squandered plenty of chances to draw 0-0.
In the Mzuzu derby against Mzuzu CityHammers, Moyale came from behind to draw 1-1. They scored their goal through Khumbo Mhone.
Their winless run continued as they played out to another 1-all stalemate with Chitipa United. Clifford Chimulambe scored their goal to cancel out Stimela Muyira’s early strike.
Their final game before hosting us was an away fixture to Aubrey Dimba’s Ground where they played Kamuzu Barracks and the military affair ended 0-0.
Moyale have so far scored nine goals and conceded six.
At this stage last season, the soldiers of Mzuzu were sixth in the table with 10 points and they go into this clash with the same number of points, but sitting in the 9th position.
As for Bullets, we have had a mixed start to the season, recording four draws and three wins out of seven matches, scoring 10 goals and conceding four, sitting third on the table with 13 points.
Our last result was a 2-0 win over Mzuzu City Hammers at Kamuzu Stadium last weekend.
PLAYERS WITH THE MOST GOALS
Moyale has Nkhoma and Phiri with two goals each, while Chimulambe, Damba, Phiri and Mhone have a goal each.
Bullets’ current top scorer is Patrick Mwaungulu, who has four goals, seconded by Ephraim Kondowe with three goals, while Chawanangwa Gumbo has two, with Babatunde Adepoju scoring one goal to his name.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The game of football is played within four white lines of the field and every game presents new challenges and opportunities.
However, the history books also provide content whenever matches of this nature come about, and we gathered some statistics between the two sides, ranging from the 2008 season to date, which has mostly been dominated by The People’s Team.
Of the last 29 matches between the two camps, Bullets have won 19 times and Moyale three times, with the rest of the games ending in draws.
The People’s Team has managed to score 49 goals against Monday’s opponents while conceding 19.
This means The Lions of Kaning’ina have scored 18 goals past Bullets in our previous meetings.
In the 2023 season, Bullets beat their opponents 3-1 at Kamuzu Stadium courtesy of a strike each from Lanjesi Nkhoma, Hassan Kajoke and Anthony Mfune. They scored their consolation goal through Raphael Phiri.
The last meeting between the two teams was on 17 October 2023 at Rumphi Stadium, in which Bullets came from behind to beat their opponents 3-2 through a brace from Kondowe and a lone strike from Nkhoma. It was a victory that edged Bullets closer to their fifth straight league title, which they eventually won at the end of the season.
Bullets’ highest-scoring game against Moyale was in the 2020/21 season when we hammered them 5-1 at Kamuzu Stadium.
As for the soldiers, the last time they recorded a win over Bullets was in the 2020/21 season at Mzuzu Stadium courtesy of a lone strike from Lloyd Njaliwa, who is now with Mozambican side Costa do So.
TEAM NEWS
Struggling with injuries in the new season, Pasuwa has suffered another blow after losing Colin Mujuru and Crispin Mapemba. The Zimbabwean defender and our reserves graduate are not part of the travelling squad to Mzuzu due to tightness of the muscles and a sprained ankle.
HOW TO WATCH THE MATCH
The match will be live on MBC TV and will also be streamed on FIFA+. Alternatively, you can catch the live updates on our official Facebook and Twitter Channels
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Newton Nyirenda
Assistant 1: Piason Kamanga
Assistant 2: Steve Nyirenda
Fourth Official: Mercy Kayira
Match Assessor: Zuza Nyondo
