Nabi sets sight on Yanga vs TP Mazembe clash

Yanga will seek to seal the top spot in the group's standings on April 2 when the squad locks horns with DR Congo giant, TP Mazembe, at the Stade TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi.

Nabi pointed out that a second-place finish for his club will bring difficulty in the quarterfinal stage due to the nature of the competition brought about by confronting tougher opponents that finish first.

According to the gaffer, finishing second is also accompanied by the disadvantage of starting at home in the first leg of the last eight.

Yanga will miss its players, Khalid Aucho, as well as goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who was shown a yellow card in past Group D fixtures, in the coming match against TP Mazembe.

The April 2 duel is a reminder of the 3-1 victory Yanga secured against the DR Congo big gun when they took on each other at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam last month.

Nabi pointed out that the game is very important for Yanga, which aims to finish top of Group D and set a new record in Tanzania's history in the African inter-club tournaments.

"We all know that if we finish in first place, there is an advantage of meeting the second-placed teams in other groups, but if we fail to clinch the top spot, we will meet teams that have done well in these six games of the Group Stage," the coach noted.

Nabi revealed: "I have confidence in my players, It won't be easy but I'm very calculated. I like to live with the goals of making sure we finish in the first place."

"I think the best thing is to plan and play with the right mentality and write history," Nabi noted.

The gaffer pointed out: "We want to have an advantage towards the quarterfinal stage and we have to win the game against TP Mazembe, scoring as many goals as possible, because we are already tied in head-to-head record with US Monastir."

However, as it stands in Group D, Jangwani Street-based Yanga leads Group D with 10 points similar to the second-placed US Monastir of Tunisia as the two teams are only separated by goal difference.

Yanga has pumped in eight goals from five matches while US Monastir has notched six goals in five encounters hence the former takes command of the group.

Mali's AS Real Bamako comes third with five points while TP Mazembe is rooted at the base with three points from five clashes and undoubtedly it has been a thorny run for the bottom-placed side in the contest.

To make it worse, TP Mazembe has conceded more goals in the group (nine) and has notched five goals- a setback synonymous with elimination.

Yanga has thus pocketed 40m/- from President Samia Suluhu Hassan that is handing over 5m/- for each scored goal by Yanga and Simba SC in this season's Africa inter-club tournaments.

In the NBC Premier League, Yanga continues to step closer to the season’s league title after collecting 65 points having honoured 24 duels.

The league leader's closest challenger, Simba SC, is sitting second with 57 points after playing 24 fixtures.

Until now, both Simba SC and Yanga have six matches to play including the one involving the teams, nicknamed 'Dar derby', before closing the eventful 2022/23 campaign.