Duro Ikhazuagbe
The drama in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) will play out today when the last matches of the 38-week season are rounded up this evening in all the centres.
While Akwa United have clinched the title and are still in celebration mood, the race to the next two spots that guarantee tickets to the CAF Champions League as well as the Confederation Cup have become tricky and crooked.
Despite defending champions Enyimba in the fifth spot on the log as a result of losing ground in their fortress in Aba last Monday to Sunshine Stars, anything can still happen today to throw them up into the continent.
However, it remains to be seen how Coach Fatai Osho and his People’s Elephant are going to achieve that dream.
Going into Match-day 38, Nasarawa United (2nd, 65 points), Kano Pillars (3rd, 64 points) and Rivers United (4th, 63 points) are all ahead of Enyimba in the struggle for continental tickets. The quartet however have the disadvantage of playing away to Abia Warriors, Heartland and Sunshine, who are all not safe from danger of dropping out of the Nigerian topflight.
Even Enyimba who are playing Dakkada at home in Aba cannot bank of maximum points as Sunshine Stars’s 1-1 result on Monday has shown that anything can happen this evening.
This season, the Aba club have also enjoyed a better form away from home.
Coach Fatai Osho will quit the team after two years in charge and he would most certainly want to end it on a winning note and offer them a glimmer hope to play in either the CAF Champions League or Confederation Cup next year.
All that remain to be seen at the end of regulation time this afternoon in the four centres.
After a better forgotten performance in the continent this term, the two-time African champions will be gutted not qualifying to play CAF competitions next season.
MATCH-DAY 38 (4pm)
MFM FC v Jigawa GS
Lobi Stars v Akwa Utd
Sunshine v Rivers Utd
Dakkada v Enyimba
Rangers v Plateau Utd
Abia War’ v Nasarawa
Kwara Utd v Katsina Utd
Wikki v Adamawa Utd
Heartland v Kano Pillars
IfeanyiUbah v W’ Wolves
2020/2021 NPFL League Table
Club P W D L F A GD Pts
Akwa Utd 37 19 14 4 52 22 30 71
Nasarawa 37 20 5 12 54 35 19 65
Kano Pillars 37 19 7 11 38 28 10 64
Rivers Utd 37 18 9 10 48 35 13 63
Enyimba 37 17 12 8 38 32 6 63
Kwara Utd 37 18 8 11 45 28 17 62
Rangers 37 17 8 12 41 31 10 59
Lobi Stars 37 16 7 14 41 38 3 55
Plateau Utd 37 14 9 14 45 33 12 51
Dakkada 37 15 5 17 36 44 -8 50
Katsina Utd 37 14 7 16 35 39 -4 49
MFM F.C 37 12 12 13 32 35 -3 48
Heartland 37 12 9 16 42 50 -8 45
Abia War’ 37 11 11 15 45 41 4 44
Jigawa GS 37 11 10 16 29 44 -15 43
Wikki 37 11 9 17 38 47 -9 42
Sunshine 37 10 12 15 27 39 -12 42
W’Wolves 37 11 8 18 30 44 -14 41
Ifeanyi Ubah 37 8 12 17 32 50 -18 36
Adamawa 37 5 10 22 20 53 -33 25
