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Bahati: Azam FC assistant coach insists Yanga SC will not have home-ground advantage
The Ice-cream Makers are aiming at avenging their 1-0 loss suffered in the first round
Azam FC assistant coach Vivier Bahati has insisted playing Yanga SC at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the Tanzania Mainland League assignment will not give their hosts an advantage.
The two Tanzania Mainland League heavyweights will be playing on Sunday night, each side being desperate for maximum points to boost their chances of winning the league. Timu ya Wananchi will be at home against the 2014 champions.
Wananchi won the last meeting at the Azam Complex in Chamazi by a solitary goal scored by Deus Kaseke in the 49th minute.
"We cannot say that we are going to play away because we are used to that stadium," Bahati told Goal ahead of the game.
"They do not have an advantage against us, we are going there to fight, hoping to get maximum points. Yes, they will host us, but in our minds, it will be like we are playing at home.
"We made a mistake the last time we hosted them and ended up dropping the three points. So we want to give our best and ensure we also get maximum points away."
The Burundian went on to shed light on the team's preparations and on who will be missing from the game against the 27-time champions.
"Preparations have been top-notch, we all understand it is not going to be an easy game," Bahati continued.
"We are not expecting [Yanga] to be like Dodoma Jiji [who we drew 2-2 with], they will be tougher and we have prepared for that. It is a game that will be played with a higher tempo.
"Everyone is available and ready for the game apart from Emmanuel Charles who is nursing an injury. So we will, as usual, field a strong team and hope to get maximum points from the match."
Timu ya Wananchi will be targeting maximum points to get back on top of the table. They were relegated to second position on Saturday by reigning champions Simba SC who defeated Gwambina FC by a solitary goal scored by Mohamed Hussein.
A win for the third-placed Ice-cream Makers will reduce the gap between them and the top two sides.
