ZESCO United will hope to consolidate their place at the top of the MTN Super League standings when they travel to third-placed FC MUZA on Saturday, potentially opening a five-point gap between themselves and their rivals.
ZESCO have won their last three league games in a row, their best run this season, but come up against an excellent opponent.
MUZA have lost just once this campaign, the best record of any team, but seven draws from their 13 games means they have been unable to pull away at the top of the table.
ZESCO have scored 20 goals so far this campaign, the most by any club, with MUZA joint second on the list with 18. That means we could be in for a fairly high-scoring game.
MUZA took four points from their two meetings last season, but come up against an improved ZESCO outfit this time round.
Second-placed Nkwazi go to Mufulira Wanderers looking to defend a five game unbeaten streak (W4 D1) that has seen them shoot up the table.
Wanderers, who are back in the top division this season, are in eight and a victory could move them to within a point of second, so expect this to be another tough encounter. Especially as Wanderers are unbeaten at home this campaign (W4 D2).
Red Arrows are down in fourth, but such is the congestion at the top of the league that they could be at the summit by the end of the weekend of they win at home to Kabwe Warriors and other results go their way.
Arrows are also unbeaten on their own patch (W4 D2), but Warriors, who are one point and one place below them on the table, have a strong away record (W3 D1 L2). They also have a decent record at Arrows with five wins, five defeats and six draws in their last 16 visits.
Champions Power Dynamos will be disappointed with their start to the campaign that has yielded just five wins in 13 league games yet find themselves only four points off top spot ahead of a trip to Forest Rangers.
The latter have been woefully inconsistent this season, with only ZESCO (32) having more goals scored in their games this season (GF14 GA15). That makes them unpredictable and this one could go either way.
ZANACO host Green Eagles on Sunday in a clash between two teams placed seventh and ninth respectively on the table, but who will expect to be higher.
No team has conceded fewer than ZANACO’s nine goals this term, so they have been miserly and will be tough for Eagles to crack.
Nkana FC host Green Buffaloes in another test for them as they seek to move out of the relegation zone. They have yet to win at home this season (D3 L3), while Buffaloes have yet to win away (D1 L5).
In other matches this weekend, NAPSA Stars host Prison Leopards, Mutondo Stars welcome Kansanshi Dynamos and Konkola Blades go to bottom side Trident in a battle between two sides in the relegation zone.