Two Premier League ever-present teams meet at AAK II Sports Arena in Ampain on Sunday afternoon as Hearts of Oak travel to Basake Holy Stars.
These historic away clubs have been trophy-shy in contemporary times, and perhaps both clubs see a little bit of themselves in the other. The Phobians inherently pessimistic fanbase have been subject to bleak 2024/25 campaigns thus far, although many would argue that Hearts of Oak are performing to pre-season expectations.
Match Preview
Aboubakar Ouattara's Phobia are 5th in the table and slightly below the top of the list. The Ivorian gaffer oversaw a 1-1 draw at Samartex last weekend.
Holy Stars' inconsistent run in the Premier League continued last Sunday as Aduana slew a 1-1 with them at the AAK II Sports Arena. Sunday's visitors remain depleted, but Abdulai Gazale simply has to oversee an uptick in results soon.
Basake are 9th in the league standings - Gazale's saving grace - but they aim to do well as the second round starts this weekend and avoid being described as a relegation team when the season comes to an end.
Basake Holy Stars vs Hearts of Oak head-to-head record (last five games)
Holy Stars: 1 win
Hearts of Oak: 0 wins
Draws: 0
Basake Holy Stars possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Aboubakar (GK); Kwame, Asante, Author, Baffour, Boadi (C), Opoku, Oteng, Simba, Tweneboah, Yakubu
Hearts of Oak possible starting lineup (4-3-3):
Asare (GK); Amankwah, Asibey, Awuah, Boateng, Collison, Hussein, Issah, Mensah, Sanni, Ramzy
We say: Basake Holy Stars 1-2 Hearts of Oak
Can both teams lose?
Ouattara's Hearts of Oak won't be too dissimilar to Gazale's iteration, and they'll remain a tough team to beat for the Phobians, especially at Ampain.
Hearts of Oak should enjoy control and territory here, but they've hardly proven themselves to be proficient lock pickers against compact defences. Their issues from set-pieces haven't been as noticeable compared to three year ago when they won the league, but the hosts will doubtlessly aim to dominate from such situations on Sunday.
All results are on the table here, but the visitors may walk away with a desperately needed three points.
By: Pascal Amoah
