The curtain to the FDH Bank Premiership first round will be brought down this afternoon when Blue Eagles and reigning champions Mighty Wanderers battle for a top spot finish.
The settling is the Eagles’ nest, Nankhaka ground in Area 30, Lilongwe.
Wanderers lie second in the 16-team top-flight with 29 points, just a point shy of leaders and their arch-rivals FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, who already concluded their first round assignments.
On the other hand, the cops are fourth with 28 points, a point behind the Nomads.
The team that wins today will go top of the table, but such is the luxury for the Lali Lubani Road outfit that even a draw will see them have the bragging rights courtesy of a superior goal difference over the People’s Team.
The Nomads go into this contest fresh from their disappointing outing in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, where they returned with their heads hang following a 6-1 demolition at the hands of Simba Sports Club who sent them packing from the 2026/27 CAF Champions League edition 7-1 on aggregate at the first hurdle.
But in an interview yesterday, Wanderers interim head coach McDonald ‘Nginde’ Mtetemera said they have picked themselves up from the Dar es Salaam disappointment.
“Painful and disappointing as it was, we have to put that aside and shift our focus to the task at hand,” he said. “This is another important and difficult match considering what is at stake.
Mtetemera said as champions, finishing the first round at the top will be a timely boost in a quest to defend the title.
He also said victory this afternoon could ease the Dar es Salaam humiliation.
“It is not easy to get all the three points on the road, but we are well prepared for the match,” said the Nomads gaffer.
On his part, Eagles head coach Deklerk Msakakuona said after the Tanzania humiliation, he expects Wanderers to come full throttle.
“They will be out to make up for the defeat in Tanzania and also finish at the top. So, obviously it will be a tough match, but we are also aiming at finishing the first round at the top which will be a big motivation going into the second round,” he said.
Msakakuona also played down suggestions that his team will have an edge over Wanderers as they will be fresh, having had a break last week.
Last season, the Nomads won both league matches by 3-1 margins and when they met in the Airtel Top 8 semis last month, Wanderers won on penalties after playing out a one-all draw in regulation time.
