Remo Stars Vs Shooting Stars’ Southwest derby headlines Matchday 14 NPFL mid-week games

The southwest derby between Remo Stars of Ikenne and Shooting Stars of Ibadan will headline matchday 14 games of the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, this mid-week.

Unbeaten at home and with only two points dropped at the Remo Stars stadium this season, Remo Stars will be looking to bounce back from their 2-0 loss at Katsina United at the weekend and a victory against Shooting Stars will ensure they are still firmly in contention for the league title.

The Kunle Soname boys are also looking to return to winning ways after they drew two and lost one of their last three games and will bank on their record against the Oluyole Warriors whom they have have defeated in their last three home games.

Shooting Stars have been bad travelers so far this season after losing five of the six games they have played away from their Lekan Salami stadium abode in Ibadan and will be hoping to change the narrative with their first league win of the season.

The last time Shooting Stars returned with a point from Remo Stars was when they drew 1-1 in July 2017 and coach Gbenga Ogunbote and his men will feel confident with their host’s inability to win their last home game, drawing 0-0 against Rivers United.

At the ‘Cathedral’, the Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium in Enugu, Rangers international will be gunning for their fifth home win and third in a row when they host Daniel Amokachi’s Lobi Stars.
The Flying Antelopes have not lost in their last six games, home and away, and will be hoping to not only make it seven games unbeaten but also secure the maximum points against a team that lost 2-1 in the last time they visited Enugu in March this year for a league game.

‘This Wednesday, it’s us against Lobi Stars of Markudi at the Cathedral —let’s make it unforgettable!. Ọnụrụ ude nwanne agbala ọsọ.Never Say Die!,’ wrote the ‘Flying Antelopes’ on their X page.

For Amokachi and Lobi, the search for a first away win continues as they have lost five of the games they have played on the road this season.

At the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, NPFL debutants, Ikorodu City will be looking for fifth home win in a row and extend their unbeaten run to five games when they host El Kanemi Warriors.

The Oga Boys have defied expectations so far this season after rising from losing four of their first five games in the Nigerian topflight league, including two at home to winning five five, drawing two and losing just one of their last eight games.

A win on Wednesday could move the Lagos-based team to fourth on the log if other results go their way.

At the Kwara Sports Complex in Ilorin, former Nigeria international winger, Emmanuel Amuneke will seeking to extend Heartland FC of Owerri’s unbeaten run in the league to six games when they face their host, Kwara United.

Amuneke has steadied what looked like a sinking Heartland ship at the start of the season after the Naze Millionaires lost three of their first four games of the season.

Heartland will be seeking their second win away from home after beating Abia Warriors of Umuahia 2-0 in an Oriental derby early this month.

In Ijebu-Ode, precisely the Dipo Dina International Stadium, the adopted home of Sunshine Stars of Akure, Finidi George will hope to continue with Rivers United resurgence after leading the Port Harcourt based side to their first win in five games last weekend with the 1-0 defeat of Abia Warriors in Port Harcourt.

Finidi had led the club he joined after he resigned his job as head coach of the Super Eagles after less than two months in charge to five wins and two draws in their first seven games of the season.

Against a Sunshine Stars seeking their fifth home win of the season, Finidi will hope his men take to his instruction and get their third away win of the season which will be enough to keep them top of the NPFL log for at least another week or so.

At the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, former Flying Eagles coach, Ladan Bosso will charge his men to bounce back from their 1-0 loss at Shooting Stars of Ibadan to record their first home win in over one month when they host Niger Tornadoes, a team that has won two, drawn two and lost two of their six games on the road so far this season.

In Umuahia, Abia Warriors will be looking for their first home win at the Umuahia Township Stadium in over a month when they host Katsina United.

The Warriors has lost one and drew the other of their last two home games and face an opponent that not only defeated Remo Stars 2-0 in Katsina but have drawn one of the two games they have played in the Southeast this season.

It will be the battle of the basement clubs at the Lafia Township stadium where Nasarawa United will host Bendel Insurance. Both clubs are 19th and 20th on the NPFL log with 12 points each from 13 games with the Edo Arsenals on top with a superior goal difference of -4 against their host’s -6.

Nasarawa have lost their last four home games with two of them at the Lafia Township stadium and will be looking to bounce back while Bendel Insurance are having a resurgence of sort after winning two of their last four games, including the away win at Sunshine Stars of Akure early this month.

NPFL Table
Team MP W D L F A GD Pts
Rivers United 13 7 4 2 13 6 +7 25
Remo Stars 13 7 2 4 13 8 +5 23
El Kanemi 13 5 7 1 15 13 +2 22
Enyimba 12 5 5 2 14 9 +5 20
Enugu Rangers 13 5 5 3 13 10 +3 20
Kano Pillars 13 5 4 4 18 17 +1 19
Ikorodu City 13 5 3 5 16 14 +2 18
Niger Tornadoes 13 4 6 3 11 10 +1 18
Shooting Stars 13 5 3 5 11 11 +0 18
Kwara United 13 4 5 4 14 12 +2 17
Heartland 13 4 5 4 11 11 +0 17
Katsina United 13 4 4 5 11 11 +0 16
Sunshine Stars 12 5 1 6 9 13 -4 16
Plateau United 13 5 3 5 13 14 -1 15
Abia Warriors 13 4 3 6 10 15 -5 15
Bayelsa United 13 3 5 5 8 14 -6 14
Lobi Stars 13 3 4 6 14 19 -5 13
Akwa United 13 3 3 7 9 12 -3 12
Insurance 13 4 3 6 11 15 -4 12
Nasarawa United 13 3 3 7 10 16 -6 12