THE Premier League delivers another intriguing fixture today as Young Africans face off against Mashujaa at the KMC Mwenge Complex.

This midweek clash carries significant weight, with both teams striving for consistency in a season brimming with drama and unpredictability.

Defending champions Young Africans have been struggling to win lately and that’s not a good sign when a clash with a team that is tough to beat looms.

Last season, Young Africans were expected to win against Mashujaa without any trouble. These days, that’s not so certain. 

It’s not because Young Africans aren’t a strong squad but more that they have failed to really show it regularly on the pitch recently.

The form of Young Africans since late October hasn’t been good, with the side managing only one win in the last six matches they played across all competitions.

Keep in mind that one of those matches only became a draw due to late equaliser against TP Mazembe last weekend, so they’re lucky to even have this record. 

In reality, it’s more grimmer than that because they essentially could have a score that is one win and five defeats.

Their problems are multifaceted. On one hand, they don’t score as well as they can. They have found the back of the net only four times in the last six games.

To compound their woes, they are conceding a lot of goals and quite easily so. They have conceded at least two goals in three of their most recent six fixtures including a 3-1 defeat to unfancied Tabora United side.

This can be tracked to injuries, as they have missed their defensive starters in most of these games. 

Left full-back Chadrack Boka is out while right full-back Yao Atohola is just back but clearly far from his personal best.

To make matters worse, first choice goalkeeper Djigui Diarra picked a knock that forced him out of the TP Mazembe match. 

There is not much to be done there except for the team to tighten it up and with time they will.

Head coach Sead Ramovic (pictured) acknowledged the stakes, explaining that though they come into the game as favourites, they can’t afford to underestimate Mashujaa.

“We are favourites to do well but that does not make us underestimate our opponents. We have prepared well to ensure that the players are going to do the work we instruct them in training. We believe that it will be a good and competitive match.

“We have finished our three Champions League matches and now our focus is on the Premier League. We want to fight to ensure we defend our title. 

“I have spoken to the players about the importance of three points for tomorrow's game and they are ready,” he said.