After a three-week mid-season break, the Nigeria Premier Football League is back for the final stretch of the 2024/25 season, with the southwest derby between Sunshine Stars and Ikorodu City headlining the match-day 20 fixtures, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Sunshine Stars will host the high-flying newcomers at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne with their 2-1 defeat during the first leg of the encounter in Lagos still fresh.
Unlike their visitors, Sunshine Stars haven’t been able to boast of a decent run so far this season, as they sit in the 16th position, just one point above the drop zone.
They were plagued by a sudden managerial change and a string of bad results in the first stanza, but all that is about to change according to their new coach Bala Abubakar.
Abubakar admits the tough task of leading the team to safety and believes a good start to the second stanza will boost their confidence.
“We have been working round the clock to see how we are going to start the second leg on a promising note with a sound victory in our first match of the second stanza,” the coach said.
“We lost the first leg to them 2-1, they will want to come here to fight point, so it’s going to be a tough beginning, nevertheless, we are battle-ready for the second leg.”
Sunshine Stars scored just 13 goals in the first stanza, a joint-least number and the coach is confident their days of misfiring are over.
“We have improved in the area of goal scoring, we have done well in the area of finishing, from the friendly matches we have played so far, we can score from chances created.
“I believe as we start this second round that the situation is going to be improved, you will see us scoring more goals in this second round.
“The team is stronger, and we are going out stronger this second round, the team is now more formidable than ever before”.
For Ikorodu City who are currently sixth, above teams like Kano Pillars and Enyimba, they have surpassed expectations so far this season but they must keep up the tempo to survive.
They have been fearless in the Southwest derby, winning two and drawing one during the first stanza.
Despite their impressive run in their debut season in the topflight, they have maintained that their target remains to beat the drop.
