BetKing Ethiopia PL title up for grabs

The week 22 fixtures of the BetKing Ethiopia Premier League were supposed to be played between 1-3 May, but as Ethiopians celebrated Easter this weekend, those games have been moved to Thursday, 6 May - Saturday, May 8, and that's all that changes from the fixtures.

It's week 22 in the BetKing Ethiopia Premier League 2021 campaign and what a season this has proven to be. The only thing standing between league leaders Fasil Kenema and the title is a single point, so we can all stop calculating what it takes to prevent them from securing the league title.

The fixtures for the next three days will be geared towards the battle for second place, qualification for the Caf Confederations Cup, the relegation dogfight and final placements.

Thursday, 6 May, 2021:

Ethiopia Coffee v Wolaitta Dicha

Ethiopia Coffee are the only team in the League left with a mathematical chance to still win in the unlikely case that Fasil Kenema lose all their games. Ethiopia Coffee face Wolaitta Dicha in sixth place with the team only six points behind them.

Wolaitta caused an upset when they helped deflate St George in their last game. Ethiopia Coffee will not be taking any chances and will hope Abubakher Nasri rediscovers his goalscoring touch following his recent struggles in front of goal.

A win for Wolaitta cuts the advantage to just three points from second place and African qualification may just be up for grabs.

Adama Kenema v Dire Dawa Kenema

Adama Kenema have been playing well despite their bottom position and actually achieved a remarkable feat in getting two draws in their last five games. They came close to achieving three draws in a row before Fasil ran away with a victory by a single goal.

Dire Dawa have been solid in the recent fixtures and haven't quite hit the heights we saw earlier in the season. This will be a very interesting encounter.

Friday, 7 May, 2021:

Sebeta Kenema v Sidama Coffee

We don't know which Sidama Coffee will show up on Friday when they take on Sebeta Kenema, the team which relies solely on Okiki Afolabi or the team which finds a way to use their strength and power to bring others into the game.

They currently hover around the bottom when they should be punching higher and, despite winning three of their last five games, they are just above the bottom two, Jimma Aba Jifar and Adama.

Hawassa Kenema v Hadiya Hossana

Hawassa Kenema keeps popping up with surprise results every now and then, and if they were more consistent, they might just have been challenging for honours. But as we have seen, they have a knack for deflating other highflying teams just when they seem to be getting good results. They illustrated this with surprise wins over St George and recently Wolaitta Dicha.

Hadiya Hossana, once the pacesetters earlier in the season, are out of contention for the title and may just give a final push for second place and hope that Dawa Hotessa continues his resurgence alongside strike partner Kalusha Alhassan.

Saturday, 8 May, 2021:

St George v Bahir Dar

St George finally returned legendary striker Saladin Said to the team for their last game and he was a bit rusty but perhaps he will come good this week against Bahir Dar, who despite a good run last month, have somehow lost steam.

However, there's still the chance to finish second so this will be a keen contest between two struggling contenders.

Fasil Kenema v Wolkite Ketema

Fasil have climbed every mountain and now know they have to cross a river to their crown. Wolkite Ketema can be formidable but haven't won any of their last five games, losing three and drawing two.

Fasil have alternated between wins and draws of late, and this looks like a draw in their sequence, but that's what they need to snuff out Ethiopia Coffee's mathematical chance with three games to spare.

They might want to secure the title in style, change this win-draw template and set the Hawassa Stadium alight while painting the city of Hawassa with goals.

In Mujib Kassim they have the goal scorer supreme looking for his 20th goal of the season, the man who has led their brilliant title charge alongside the amazing Shemeket Gugsa, who like his brother at Wolaitta, Chernet Gugsa, has set the season alight.

However, they might not need to do anything on Saturday if Ethiopia Coffee somehow contrive to lose or draw their game on Thursday against Wolaitta Dicha. That party might just start on Saturday, and the entire weekend could be rock and roll, with the guard of honour to follow.