Can Olympics upset Hearts?
Accra Great Olympics can take advantage of the indifferent form of their city rivals, Hearts of Oak, to lift themselves up the Premier League log when they clash this evening at the Accra Sports Stadium in the top fixture of the 14th week matches.
Olympics, currently 15th on the league log, were disappointing at the start of the competition but with the appointment of Annor Walker (their third coach this season) they hope to turn their season around, starting with last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Ebusua Dwarfs at the Accra Stadium.
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Inconsistent Hearts
Similarly, Hearts have not been consistent this season and have struggled even at the Accra Stadium where they have dropped points, including last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Inter Allies, even though technically it was an away game for the Phobians who are in the eighth position on the league log.
While Olympics have drawn four of their last five matches, last Saturday’s win against Dwarfs ended a three-match losing streak at home. They can thus close the four-point gap with their opponents with a win today.
Olympics’ campaign suffered a jolt following a hand injury suffered in last Saturday’s match by their captain, Gladson Awako, whose availability for the Hearts clash remains uncertain.
Hearts coach, Edward Odoom, has an all-round side and a potent attack force built around Joseph Esso and Kofi Kodzi who could trouble the Olympics defence which has been the team’s weakest department and occasionally let down the Wonder Club badly.
Coming into today’s clash, Hearts have picked up seven points from the last five games (both home and away) and scored four times in the last five fixtures.
Unbeaten in their last three home matches, momentum is really building up for the Phobians who have gone six games unbeaten with goalkeeper Richard Attah keeping three clean sheets in their last five games.
Head to head
On paper, today’s match favours Hearts who have dominated recent derbies with seven victories and three draws in the last 10 encounters between them.
In their last clash in the 2016/17 season, the Phobians ran away with a 2-1 victory, but Olympics have a tendency of causing upsets when they have their backs to the wall and, therefore, their threat cannot be overlooked.
Other matches
Fifth-placed Ashgold are expected to return to winning ways when they host Bechem United at the Len Clay Stadium at Obuasi, where the Soccer Miners have won their last three matches and lost just once this season.
Berekum Chelsea, who started the season on a flying note with away wins against Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko and Ashgold, will seek to return to winning ways after two straight losses as they host Legon Cities — without an away win this season — at the Golden City Park, Berekum this afternoon.
Struggling Dwarfs look favourites to defeat bottom placed King Faisal at the Cape Coast Stadium, while WAFA could turn the Red Bull Arena at Sogakope into another slaughter house as they host Aduana Stars.
At the Akoon Park at Tarkwa, league leaders Medeama SC are likely to entrench themselves firmly on top of the log when they host Techiman Eleven Wonders.
Tomorrow afternoon, Kotoko are favourites for a third straight win when they play Elmina Sharks at the Accra Stadium, while Liberty Professionals play Inter Allies in a regional derby at the Carl Reindorf Park, Dansoman.