By 
Something special will happen on Wednesday evening in Wakiso. Guess what?! It’s not a music concert or show neither is it another proclamation to the outbreak of a new pandemic. This will happen without fail and it will be the last two Uganda Premier League winners, Vipers SC and KCCA FC locking horns at the St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende in the StarTimes Uganda Premier.
These two sides share the last 8 titles between themselves with the Kasasiro Boys bragging with the lion’s share (5) in the period.
However, that will count less when the two sides meet in Kitende with either side hoping to return to winning ways after dismal performances in their last games. Vipers lost their second league game on Saturday after they were taxed by URA 2-1, while KCCA FC rallied from a goal down to salvage a 1-all draw with their Tennants Police FC at the MTN Omondi Stadium, Lugogo.
The Venoms sit second on the log with 30 points garnered in 14 games and victory against the Kasasiro Boys would potentially see them ascend to the top of the log, provided URA FC loses against Onduparaka.
While the Lugogo based side lies three points below in their hosts on the day in 4th position, victory could take them level on points with their day’s opponents at the end of the day.
This match will offer a reunion between some players and their former paymasters. Keziron Kizito, Ashraf Mugume and Andrew Kawooya will travel with the KCCA FC team to Kitende, while Mohammad Shaban will also be versing facing the club that got him from Arua for the first time since he left them.
Team News
Vipers SC head coach Fred Kajoba will be boosted by the return of Paul Willa and Rashid Toha who missed their last game, a 2-1 loss to URA due to Suspensions.
Halid Lwaliwa and Abraham Ndugwa are also expected to be back as is Aziz Kayondo who missed the last couple of games due to Uganda Hippos AFCON U20 engagements.
On the other end, Mike Mutebi remains without Filbert Obenchan, Juma Balinya, Stefano Loro Mazengo, Julius Poloto and John Revita who are all still out with Injuries.
Key stats
KCCA and Vipers will be meeting for the 31st time in the league history and are on level grounds out of the previous 30 meetings, each having 11 wins and 8 draws.
KCCA FC has never won at St Mary’s Stadium, Kitende since Vipers started using the Stadium as their home ground. They have drawn two and lost one of the three games played there. Last season, Vipers and KCCA played out to a goalless stalemate in Kitende.
The Lugogo based club remains the highest-scoring team this season, having found the back of the net 38 times, six ahead of their nearest contenders Vipers.
Vipers have a 100% winning record at home, having secured victories against all the seven teams (Kitara, UPDF, MYDA, Bright Stars, Police FC, SC Villa and BUL) that have visited Kitende so far this season.
KCCA FC, meanwhile, hasn’t had a brilliant record on the road, winning just three (Busoga United, BUL and Bright Stars) of their seven games played away from home.
Past 5 meetings at Vipers home
- 2015/16:- Vipers 2-2 KCCA
- 2016/17:- Vipers 2-1 KCCA
- 2017/18:- Vipers 3-2 KCCA
- 2018/19:- Vipers 1-1 KCCA
- 2019/20:- Vipers 0-0 KCCA
What the coaches say
”We have set ourselves well both mentally and physically and we will go all out against KCCA FC on Wednesday. We are playing at home and it’s important for us to do our best and end the first round well,” Fred Kajoba told the Vipers website.
“We have no pressure and this is like any other game. We shall go there and try to win the game. We shall play our way and we shall not be worried about the opposition. We are not looking at History and how we have been performing against Vipers at Kitende. We are boosted by the return of the kids from the U20 tournament in Mauritania. Steven Sserwadda, Kizza Bukenya and Andrew Kawooya will travel with the team to Kitende.” Mike Mutebi told the KCCA website.
