Israel Saria
Mainland premier soccer league title chase has been thrown wide open with three top placed teams in the standings table rubbing shoulders for the podium finish.
Holders Simba, who were held to 1-1 draw by rivals Young Africans (Yanga) during their return leg tie played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam last Saturday, have a relatively soft passage to retain the title.
With five matches in hand before winding up the season, Simba like Yanga and Azam FC need to post outright victories to post a back-to-back scudetto.
Simba, who are left just a point adrift of pace makers Yanga, have an opportunity to go top should they win or draw against Ruvu Shooting in their left over return leg at the Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro on Wednesday.
By then Simba would be left with four matches each against bottom placed AFC at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha on Saturday, JKT Ruvu, Kagera Sugar and lastly Majimaji.
Simba play three of their last four matches at their backyard of Uhuru Stadium, a likely psychological boost for title retention bid.
Pace makers Yanga have to battle it out against stubborn Ruvu JKT at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, 24 hours before another hot title contender Azam FC host Mtibwa Sugar at the same venue.
Yanga have also Azam FC, African Lyon and Toto Africa standing on their way towards the silverware.
Besides their match against Mtibwa Sugar, Azam have to cross over Yanga, African Lyon and Ruvu Shooting.
The weekend matches would provide a clear picture on the title chase between the three Dar es Salaam teams.
All the three teams have an opportunity to win the premiership title but upsets are most likely to happen as they meet some of the teams urgently fighting to avoid relegation.
Ruvu Shooting, Majimaji, Police Dodoma, African Lyon, Toto Africa and AFC are all inside the relegation web which would pull two teams to shove them outside the top flight berth.
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