Miners seek back-to-back wins against struggling giants

Nasarawa United host former African champions Enyimba in Lafia on Sunday, looking for back-to-back league wins, while the visitors search for form at the wrong end of the table.

The Solid Miners won for the first time this season last weekend, beating Inter Lagos 2-0, and they will fancy their chances of building on that. They enter the game with strong defensive momentum and are favoured to take all three points.

The nine-time champions are in an unfamiliar position. The People’s Elephant are 19th after a frustrating 0-0 draw with Warri Wolves, a game in which they struggled to find any attacking rhythm. That followed a heavy 4-2 defeat to Katsina United, and consistency has been a problem all season.

Nasarawa know that victory will not be handed to them. History favours the visitors, with Enyimba winning seven of the previous meetings against five for Nasarawa, while four ended in draws. However, Enyimba have struggled in recent years to leave Lafia with all three points, and that record gives the hosts further encouragement.

For Enyimba, a first away win of the kind that could start a climb away from the bottom would be a significant lift. For Nasarawa, victory would confirm that their first win was the start of a recovery rather than a one-off.

Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories