Ethiopia Nigd face Hawassa, Wolaitta target Dire Dawa

Ethiopia Nigd Bank, also known as CBE - Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, hope to retain top spot when they face Hawassa City in the Ethiopia Premier League on Thursday.

Wolaitta Dicha and Dire Dawa City meet in the other fixture with both games taking place at the Dire Dawa International Stadium.

Ethiopia Nigd Bank took over the leadership at the top after the failings of Mekelakeya and St George last week, with Hawassa City in 10th place.

Ethiopia Nigd Bank are level on points with Mekelakeya (40) but are at the top of the table on goal difference (17) ahead of their rivals (8).

St George are in third sport with 38 points, meaning there is little room for errors.

Nigd Bank had not won in three consecutive matches before they beat Hambericho. During that time they only scored one goal, but in the 20th week they netted five.

They will need their strikers to step up on the goalscoring front with only Addis Gidey really producing the goods with seven goals in the season.

DEFENSIVE WOES

The team's other attacking players have not scored as many goals as expected, but the players who came in as substitutes and scored goals in Hambericho Durame's match are expected to be another goal option for the coach.

Hawassa City returned to winning ways by defeating Shashemene City and Dire Dawa Kenema, but lost to Ethiopia Coffee after sharing points with Ethiopian Insurance in the last two league matches.

Hawassa City are also struggling a bit in the goalscoring department, netting just one goal each in their last 12 matches.

They have been unable to keep a clean sheet in 15 of the last 16 games.

They have conceded the most goals this season, next to bottom side, Hambericho Durame.

This is a source of concern for Hawassa coach Zeray Iyassu with their opponents, Ethiopia Nigd Bank, leading the way as the league's top scorers.

Ethiopia Nigd Bank won 3-0 in the first-round match.

STRIKER OUT OF ACTION

In the second match of the day, Dire Dawa City will play in front of their fans against Wolaitta Dicha who are still searching for their next victory.

Wolaitta Dicha have won only one of their last 10 league matches and have not won in any of their last seven matches.

They will be without Binyam Fikru for the fourth consecutive game, and for a team who failed to score in their last two games this is a huge concern.

Coach Yared Gemchu said that the absence of the player has hurt the team.

The Tona Bees have 24 points and are placed 12th in the table.

On the other hand, Dire Dawa City come into this match on the back of their 2-1 victory over Fasil Kenema.

Coach Commander Shimels has lost just one of their nine matches since taking charge of Dire Dawa City and has won five.

The teams' first-round match-up ended in a 1-1 draw.