Napsa Stars resume their early season push for a top four placing heading into the halfway point of the 2019/2019 season when they host Zanaco on Saturday in a Lusaka derby at Woodlands Stadium.
Napsa, who are one of two sides with only one league defeat so far this season, are currently second on the log with 21 points from ten games, six points behind unbeaten Zesco United who have began their season with a one hundred percent start in nine games with a match in hand.
Mohammed Fathy’s side returns to action after the two-week international break enjoying a five match unbeaten run since Zesco handed them their first defeat of the season on October 6 with a 3-2 away loss in Ndola.
“The league is 34 games, we have already played ten, so we still have 24 games left. So if we manage to maintain second place in the same postion, and keep ourselves close to number one, we will see what will happen at the end of the day,” Fathy said.
“Like what I said, our target is to play continental football and we have to keep ourselves in the top four bracket, that’s our target.”
Napsa also head into the match unbeaten in the derby against the seven-time league champions and last tasted defeat at the hands of Zanaco in November, 2016.
Since then, Napsa have won two and qdrawn as many games against Zanaco.
Zanaco on the other hand, head into the match with a warm engine after resuming their league campaign on Wednesday with a 1-1 home draw against Green Buffaloes across town at Sunset Stadium.
But Zanaco, who are 11th with as many points, and still playing catch-up from seven matches played with three games in hand due to their CAF Confederation Cup engagements, need a win this weekend before heading to Kinshasa to face DC Motema Pembe in their Group B fixture on December 1.
