Once again, bragging rights will be at stake when Ivorian football arch-rivals ASEC Mimosas and Africa Sports clash on Saturday in Cote d’Ivoire‘s biggest football derby at the Felix Houphouet Boiny Stadium in Abidjan.
Ahead of the much anticipated Ivorian Ligue 1 highlight this weekend, the two teams are separated by four points on the log hence pundits predicting a very tough match.
Mimosas are sitting in second place with 18 points collected after 10 matches while Africa Sports have 14 points having played the same number of games.
The two teams will be meeting for the second time this year with the first encounter having been played in April where it ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Previously, it used to be the fixture that brought the whole nation to a standstill as the winner of the furiously contested ties was almost assured of going all the way to be crowned Ivorian champions.
But nowadays the fixture might not have the allure, identity and even defining moments it used to have in the last three decades, but the urge to grab the bragging rights has never been eroded.
Mimosas enter into this match in the wake of a shocking 2-0 defeat at the hands of fourth place ASI in a match that was played at Parc des Sports de Treichville Stadium on Sunday, while Africa Sport played to a 1-1 draw against Bouake in their last outing.
Last year, Mimosas hit Africa Sports home and away and in overall they have dominated the derby winning 63 meetings, ten times more than their rivals whom they have drawn 15 times.
Looking at the recent head-to-head record, Africa Sports have an upper hand and this is something that Mimosas will be eager to change.
Both teams are really in good shape and will be buoyed by the winning mentality that has seen them lose just twice in their last 10 league meetings.
Coulibaly Tiemoko is Mimosas’s most lethal assassin at the moment, and he will be preferred alongside Zeze Segre to start on his team’s offensive set-up.
And as they look to extend their dominance in this fixture, Africa Sports will take comfort in the fact that Ricky Hans is fit and available, as are Tchike Chikweze, Sogbossi Caroff and Ousmane Diallo.
Stringent security measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of both players and spectators, with the host club African Sport sponsors promising to cater for part of the security bills.
