Butali Sugar Warriors prey on Chase Sailors at City Park

Butali Sugar Warriors will be out to bounce back to winning ways then they take on Chase Sailors in a mid-week Kenya Hockey Union men's Premier League match at the City Park Stadium, Nairobi.

The 2015 champions drew 0-0 with second placed Greensharks on Saturday, missing the chance to move into second spot and also close the gap on runaway leaders Kenya Police.

The draw left the lakeside side in third place with 26 points, eight behind Police.

And with the crunch Butali-Police showdown set for Saturday, Godfrey Wakachunga’s charges cannot afford to drop any further points as they seek to reclaim the title. They come up against a Chase side that is also struggling to string a run of wins this season.

It will be the first meeting between the two sides since the Sailors got promoted to the top flight last year.

The Bankers have only won twice in nine games and lie a distant tenth with 10 points and could badly do with the three points this evening.

They lost 2- 1 to Nakuru in their last outing on June 17. Butali coach Wakachunga has called for a response from his charges, warning that anything short of a win will spell doom on their title ambitions.

“Our title rivals are not dropping points and that puts the pressure on us to win all games. The game against Greensharks was tough and we are disappointed we didn’t win but we have got to bounce back and keep our ambitions alive,” the tactician said.

“A win will give us confidence ahead of the match against Police and I know the players are ready to bounce back,” he added.

Butali's attacking midfielder Brian Musasia is a doubt after picking an injury during the Sharks match.

Emmanuel Simuyu will lead the attack assisted by Frank Wanangwe with Lawrence Okubasu and Seth Oburu operating on either wings. A win will see Butali leaprog Sharks into second place.

Chase coach William Oketch, a former Butali player, will hope his knowledge on his former club will be able to help his charges.

“Butali have talented players who can create chances from nowhere, we therefore need to disrupt their game plan and put pressure on their defence,” Oketch said.

“We have drawn a lot of matches and I hope that trend can end against Butali.”

International George Mutira's pace could pose a problem for the Butali defence marshalled by Kenneth Nyongesa and Saidi Okwemba.