Tusker vs Mathare United: TV channel, live stream, team news and preview
Football Kenya Federation Premier League champions Tusker will aim to bounce back to winning ways when they host struggling Mathare United in a top-flight fixture at Ruaraka grounds on Thursday.
The Brewers have not enjoyed a good start to the season as they have won only three matches from the eight played and in their last assignment, they suffered a 1-0 away defeat against table-toppers Kakamega Homeboyz.
On the other hand, Mathare are also struggling in the top-tier as they have lost their last two matches – 2-0 against Nairobi City Stars and 4-1 against Wazito FC – and they will thus be seeking to end the bad run with a positive result against the Brewers.
| Game | Tusker vs Mathare United |
| Date | Thursday, December 30, 2021 |
| Time | 15:00 (EAT) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In Kenya, the game will NOT be LIVE.
| Kenya TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
NONE | NONE |
Outside Kenya, the game will NOT be LIVE.
| Outside (Kenya) TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NONE | NONE |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Tusker squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Patrick Matasi, Emery Mvuyekure and Brian Bwire. |
| Defenders | Eugine Asike, Kalos Kirenge, Jimmy Mbugua, Kevin Monyi, Daniel Sakari, Hillary Wandera, and Charles Momanyi. |
| Midfielders | Humphrey Mieno, Jackson Macharia, Boniface Muchiri, Apollo Otieno, Clyde Senaji, and Teddy Osok. |
| Forwards | Joshua Ibrahim and John Ngujuna. |
Tusker are aware they will lose ground in their bid to defend the title if they drop points against the ‘Slum Boys’.
It is the reason defender Christopher Oruchum has called on his teammates to ensure the team pulls itself out from the difficult start to the season and register a win in the fixture.
“I think it is time for us players to come back together, recollect ourselves and think of a good way to pull ourselves back on top,” Oruchum said as quoted by the club’s official website.
“We need to be the proactive side now because where the team is demanding us to work harder to pull up. In as much as we have some games in hand, we have to ensure we bag the points.”
On losing to Homeboyz, Oruchum said: “It is really a bitter pill to swallow because we were buoyed for that match and we knew a win would have given us momentum. We didn’t handle the match well especially the first quarter.
“We had agreed to be really concentrated and focused in the first 15 minutes because of the fatigue coming off travels and all, but we failed to do so. As much as it is a bitter pill to swallow we need to bounce back as a team.”
Probable XI for Tusker: Matasi, Asike, Kirenge, Sakari, Wandera, Mieno, Macharia, Senaji, Osok, Ibrahim, Njuguna.
| Position | Mathare United squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Byrne Omondi, Job Ochieng, and Tom Kangeta. |
| Defenders | Kennedy Ochieng, Victor Odhiambo, Martin Ongori, Harun Junior, Douglas Kibet, and Tony Odhiambo. |
| Midfielders | Meshack Muyonga, Brian Chege, Alphonse Ndonye, Danson Kago, and Jackson Juma. |
| Forwards | John Mwangi, Said Musa, Khalid Jumaan, and Daniel Otieno. |
Mathare United are struggling on all fronts, they have been posting negative results in the top-tier and recently the club revealed a lack of finances to honour their fixtures.
In fact, Mathare had requested the FKF caretaker committee to postpone their fixture against Tusker, but the request was turned down.
“As our club has now exhausted our capacity to borrow more funds, we request the FKF caretaker committee to either send the initial grant of Ksh300, 000 or postpone our match with Tusker scheduled for this Thursday,” Mathare said in a statement obtained by GOAL.
Probable XI for Mathare: Byrne Omondi, Ochieng, Odhiambo, Junior, Tony Odhiambo, Muyonga, Ndonye, Kago, Mwangi, Jumaan, Daniel Otieno.
Match Preview
While Tusker suffered a 1-0 defeat against Homeboyz in their last assignment, Mathare also went down 4-1 against Wazito.
Tusker have been blowing hot and cold this season as they have won three matches, drawn one and lost four while Mathare have suffered seven defeats, won two matches, and drawn one.
Last season, it was Tusker who won the first round meeting 1-0 before the two teams settled to a 0-0 draw in the second round meeting while in the previous season, the two teams drew 1-1 in the first meeting before the second-round meeting was called off owing to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in the country.
In the last six matches, Tusker and Mathare have beaten each other once, while four matches have ended in draws.
The Brewers are currently sitting in position 12 of the 18-team table with 10 points while Mathare are in position 16 with seven points.