Friday

Rayon Sports vs SC Kiyovu 3:30pm

SaturdayAS Kigali vs Espoir FC 3:30pmSunrise FC vs Musanze Kirehe FC vs Mukura VSEtincelles vs Amagaju FC

SundayMarines FC vs Police FC 3:30pmPepiniere FC vs Gicumbi FC Bugesera vs APR FC

Rayon Sports head coach Djuma Masudi has said that a win against SC Kiyovu this afternoon at Kigali Regional Stadium is crucial for his team as they bid to recover from last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to defending champions APR FC.

Masudi’s side dropped to second spot, behind APR, after losing for the first time this season. Both teams have 33 points but Jimmy Mulisa’s army side is on top courtesy of the newly introduced head to head rule, rather than goal difference.

But Rayon Sports have an opportunity to go back on top of the table at least for 48 hours when they face Aloys Kanamugire’s inconsistent SC Kiyovu, who lost against Marines 1-0 in their last outing.

APR will not be in action until Sunday when they travel to Bugesera to face Bugesera FC, who are unbeaten this season at their Nyamata ground.

High stakes

Masudi admitted that they have put behind the loss against APR and focussed on trying to take maximum points against SC Kiyovu.

"Of course we were disappointed to lose last time out but we have put that aside and now our focus is on the game against Kiyovu. The team is in good shape and ready for the match,” said Masudi.

He added that, "We know what to expect against a big team like Kiyovu but we will be looking for the win because we need three points, to return to top of the table.”

Masudi will be looking to bring back Congolese midfielder Fabrice Mugheni Kakura in starting lineup as he will be looking to rest either Moussa Camara or Shassir Niyonkuru, who have scored five and eleven goals respectively.

His counterpart at SC Kiyovu, Aloys Kanamugire, is confident his men can add on Rayon misery by handing them a second successive defeat.

"It will be a tough game for both teams, but we shall go into it with the purpose of winning, we want to give our fans something to smile about after losing to Marines last weekend,” said Kanamugire.

The former Rwanda international whose team goes into today’s match with 18 points from 14 matches, noted that, "We know Rayon Sports will come for three points because they lost their last game but we must be ready for anything that they will throw at us.”

Past encounters between the two clubs

This is the 45th league meeting between the two old enemies since 1995. In last 44 games, Rayon Sports have won 25 compared to Kiyovu’s five wins while 14 matches have ended in draws.

In all competitions, it will be 67th meeting— Rayon Sports (35 wins) and SC Kiyovu (14) and they have drawn 18. The last time they played each other, in July, 2016, Rayon Sports beat Kiyovu 2-0.

The last time Kiyovu beat Rayon Sports in the league was back in the 2011/2012 season, on April 21, 2012, 1-0 with the lone goal scored by Ugandan striker Julius Bakabulindi.

 editorial@newtimes.co.rw