MATCH PREVIEW: BUSOGA UNITED VS BUL FC

Friday April 21, 2023
Uganda Premier League
Busoga United Vs BUL FC
Kakindu Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm

The Eastern Giants are back in league action on Friday, taking on Busoga United in another Jinja derby at the familiar ground – Kakindu stadium.

Eight days after quitting the Uganda cup, Simeon Masaba’s men will be looking to respond from the quarter final 2-1 defeat at Police FC.

Things have not been the best in the league either, therefore, they will also be seeking to record their first victory of the second round to put the seven game winless run to a distant memory.

BUL sat second on the table by the end of the first round but three draws and four losses in seven matches has seen them drop to fifth place with 30 points– 13 behind leaders SC Villa.

Busoga were beaten 3-0 by Express on Tuesday with Denis Otim, Joseph Akandwanaho and Enock Ssebagala scoring for the red eagles.

Vicent Lukyamuzi’s men are fighting for their lives in the relegation zone of the league table, sitting 13th out of 15 teams, and they will also be desperate for the three points against BUL to steer clear of the danger.

They are three points better of Blacks Power but they need to improve on their 22 points tally to guarantee topflight football next season.

Both sides met in November last year for the reverse fixture and BUL were 2-0 winners at FUFA technical centre in Njeru.

Team News

A further boost has been handed to the squad prior to the game, with defenders – Walter Ochora and Ronald Otti returning to full fitness and in contention for a place on the team tomorrow.

Midfielders – Ibrahim Kazindula and Emmanuel Kalyowa are also back from suspension.

Emmanuel Obua is definitely out with an injury, while goalkeeper Emmanuel Kalyowa is down because of illness but nobody else is expected to be missing.

Assistant coach Dan Kabbale briefed the media before the big game, and he said this is the game we have to win.

“It’s a game we have to win and it’s a game we want to win because we have been having a bad run,” he said.

“Not a crisis like people think, it’s just a bad run because we were in a better place before. So, we are just having a bad run.”

“We hope to win tomorrow because we have prepared the boys very well – both mentally and physically and we hope for the best.”

“BUL has been one of the best scoring teams but we just got a bad moment because of injuries. So we have tried to work on scoring and finishing as well, and goals are going to come tomorrow.”

Captain Saidi Keni shares the opinion of the coach and he is confident the forwards will begin firing again tomorrow.

“As players, we have prepared very well. We have gone seven games without winning and it had become psychological that we don’t win,” he said.

“But coaches have worked on our mental aspect, and even us as players have had a chat and we tasked ourselves to win tomorrow’s derby.”

“It has been a torrid time for our forwards but coaches have done enough to work on their scoring and we believe goals will come tomorrow and in plenty.“

Head to Head

P14 W5 D6 L3

This fixture has produced 14 meetings between the two teams in all competitions, resulting into five wins for BUL, three victories for Busoga and six draws.

Last four encounters

December 07, 2021

BUL FC 5-0 Busoga United

February 25, 2022

Busoga United 0-3 BUL FC

March 25, 2022

Busoga United 1-1 BUL FC

November 25, 2023

BUL FC 2-0 Busoga United

Match facts

It is only two wins for BUL, having drawn three and lost five in ten away league matches. The wins came against Blacks Power (5-0) and Arua Hill (1-0) in October and December of the previous year.

Out of the seven second round matches, BUL have scooped three draws only with the last league game victory being the 5-0 triumph over Maroons midway December.

They have also kept only seven clean sheets in 21 outings this campaign, with one coming against Busoga in the reverse fixture.

But the Eastern Giants have won three of their last four meetings with Busoga United – winning 5-0 in December 2021, 3-0 in February 2022 and drawing 1-1 in March before dispatching their neighbors 2-0 in November.

This derby has produced 32 goals since 2016, 20 of them scored by BUL FC.

The ties between the sides have produced at least a goal except on two occasions – the barren stalemates of September 2016 and March 2017.

Busoga United have collected 12 points from their territory as a result of their four wins and seven defeats in 11 home matches, and they remain the only side yet to draw at home.

In their past four games, they have scored only one goal – conceding four.

The host’s last victory over BUL was two years ago when they beat the Eastern Giants 1-0 in April 2021 courtesy of Ivan Wani’s goal at Kyabazinga stadium.

Match Coverage

The game will be live on television but you can also follow the action through our social media channels below, with full text coverage during the game, followed by a match report.

Twitter: @bulfc1

Facebook: Bul Football Club – Jinja

Instagram: bulfc