Two Ghana Premier League ever-presents meet at Nsenkyire Sports Arena on Wednesday afternoon as Karela United travel to Samartex.
The Pride and Passion have been trophy-shy in contemporary times, and perhaps Samartex see a little bit of themselves above their opponents.
The pair of inherently pessimistic fanbases have been subject to bleak 2024/25 campaigns thus far, although many would argue that Samartex are not performing to pre-season expectations.
Match Preview
Samartex are currently 8th in the table with 38 points, having won three, drawing two and losing one in their last six matches
Karela's quest to avoid relegation continued on Sunday as they edged Aduana Stars 2-1 at the Aliu Mahama Stadium. Wednesday's visitors remain depleted, but coach Nurudeen Amadu simply has to oversee an uptick in results soon, if they truly want to play in the Ghanaian top-flight next season.
Can Nurudeen Amadu's saving grace save them to avoid relegation? Only time will tell - but Karela' return of seventeen points from a possible 27 over their previous nine league outings can only be described as relegation form.
Samartex possible starting lineup (4-3-3):
Issah (GK); Siaw (C), Acquah, Adabo, Essien, Mamah, Mankuyeli, Musa, Sarpong, Sefah, Sewornu
Karela United possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Nasiru (GK), Adamu, Agyemang, Ali, Asigre, Fatawu (C), Gariba, Dede, Latif, Nurudeen, Yaya
We say: Samartex 2 - 1 Karela United
Can both teams lose?
Chris Ennin's Samartex won't be too dissimilar to Amadu's iteration, as he guided the side to win the Ghana Premier League last season, and the Timber Giants will remain a tough team to beat, especially at Nsenkyire Sports Arena.
Karela 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 last season, but the hosts will doubtlessly aim to dominate from such situations on Wednesday.
All results are on the table here, but the visitors may hope to walk away with a desperately needed three points, as it will do them a lot of good. Kickoff for this match is scheduled at 15:00 GMT.
By: Pascal Amoah
