YANGA Princess is today hosting top-of-the-table Simba Queens in the latest installment of the women’s edition of the Dar derby.

The Mainland Tanzania Women’s Premier League fixture between the two teams will take place at the Azam Complex Stadium in Dar es Salaam this afternoon, with kick-off set for 4 pm.

With seven successive victories, Simba Queens is in the driving seat in the title race, sitting nine points ahead of second-placed JKT Queens.

They have been immense, failing to win just one of their last 11 league games. They are yet to taste defeat this season.

Mussa Hassan’s side is aiming to maintain their 100% record against the long-time rivals in 2023/24, having already come out on top in both the reverse league fixture and the Community Shield tournament.

Goals from Vivian Corazone and Aisha Mnunka earned Simba Queens a deserved 3-1 win at Azam Complex Stadium in January’s league clash, dealing Yanga Princess their first defeat of the season.

One month earlier, Simba Queens ground out a crucial penalty shootout victory to book a place in the Community Shield final at the expense of their rivals.

Head coach Hassan has issued a rallying call to his players to give it everything they have got in search of a third successive derby victory that would go a long way to help Simba Queens reclaim the league title away from JKT Queens.

Simba Queens captain, Violeth Nicholaus, said there is high morale with the squad as they view this game as a crucial part of their title chase.

Yang Princess, however, is aware that a positive result in the derby could see the squad propelled back into the mix, with head coach Charles Haalubono’s side currently sitting third in the league, 10 points behind Simba Queens with eight matches still to play.

Although Simba Queens holds the upper hand in games between the two sides this season, Yanga Princess has proved that it is more than capable of performing and claiming a positive result in this fixture.

In 2022/23, they played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam after Jentrix Shikangwa gave Simba Queens a first-half lead before Nigerian import Chioma Success grabbed a second-half equalizer for Yanga Princess.

Yanga Princess captain Noela Luhala, speaking ahead of the game, said they hope to cope with the pressure coming from derby encounters.

She stressed the need to avoid a repeat of past mistakes that cost them the previous derby game.