'Rivers Utd ready for Enyimba test'

Rivers United technical manager Stanley Eguma is brimming with confidence ahead of Sunday’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) opener against champions Enyimba.

Eguma reckons the seven-time champions will pose a real threat at the Yakubu Gowon (formerly Liberation) Stadium, but insists his charges will not roll over for the People's Elephant.

“We are ready for the game.

“It is the first game of the league and as you know last year was a very difficult one for us, but by the grace of God we were able to survive (and escape the drop).

“Today we are playing as a new team. We have recruited some players that can take the team far.

“I have also drummed the winning mentality into the players and we hope they will live up to expectations,” the trainer told supersport.com.

United have spent the last three weeks in Omoku (for “intensive camping”), on the outskirts of Port Harcourt and Eguma believes the hard work put in by the squad will reap rich dividends.

“We have been on pre-season training for the past two weeks and we have knocked the team into shape.

“It has been difficult; a lot of our old players left and we have been trying to build a new team.

“We are optimistic though that this team will go places.

“Come Sunday, we are going to give a very good account of ourselves. All we ask for is the support of our fans.

“They should turn out in their numbers to see the new-look Rivers United. We promise to give them something to smile about,” he said.

Eguma finished off by offering words of adulation for the People's Elephant while insisting that his charges will approach the game without fear.

“Enyimba is a big team. There are no two ways about it.

“(They parade) some of the best (footballers) in the country.

“We will neither underrate nor fear them. They have had good times in recent times.

“They are on the continent and have a lot going for them.

“On paper, they are favourites (to get the win over us).

“We know they are going to give us a good fight but we will do our best to give our fans something to cheer about on Sunday,” he said.

Sunday’s game at the Yakubu Gown Stadium represents the first competitive fixture for the newly-formed Rivers United.

TP Mazembe win third CAF Super Cup

TP Mazembe on Saturday clinched a third CAF Super Cup when they defeated Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel 2-1 in Lubumbashi.

Five-time African champions Mazembe have previously won this prestigious annual match-up between the winners of the Champions League and the Confederation Cup in 2010 and 2011.

Etoile, who won the 2015 Confederation Cup, have also won the 23-year-old competition twice.

Ghanaian striker Daniel Nii Adjei opened the scoring for Mazembe after 20 minutes when he powered his header off a Jean Kasusula cross from the left beyond goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi.

The impressive 27-year-old Adjei doubled his tally in the 45th minute when he acrobatically finished off a lovely attack after he was set up by strike partner Jonathan Bolingi.

However, the Tunisian ‘Red Devils’ pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time through Mohamed Msekni, who stabbed home from inside the box after a goalmouth scramble.

In a game played under hot and humid conditions, Msekni led Etoile to chase the game after Mazembe took the lead when he fired wide from the top of the box.

Tunisia international striker Ahmed Akaichi also came close minutes earlier, but Ivory Coast international goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo combined with his defenders to concede the first corner of the encounter.

In the 42nd minute, Bolingi saw his shot from outside the box narrowly miss the target.

Mazembe's towering central defender Salif Coulibaly crashed his header into the side netting in the 58th minute as his team piled on the pressure to increase their lead.

The African champions continued to fight to extend their advantage, even bringing on Most Valuable Player from the recent African Nations Championship in Rwanda, Meschack Elia, to add some fire to the attack.

In the 76th minute, goalkeeper Gbohouo produced the save of the day when he dived to block a goal-bound header by Alaya Brigui.

Thereafter, Mazembe held out with occasional forays into their opponents’ goal area to record another international conquest in front of their jubilant home fans.

Mueller double earns Bayern win

Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scored twice, including a 71st- minute bicycle kick, to give the Bundesliga leaders a 3-1 victory over Darmstadt 98 on Saturday and lift them 11 points clear at the top of the table.

Mueller scored both goals in the second half as Bayern, who face Juventus in the Champions League round of 16 next week, had to battle from a goal down against the promoted club.

Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski, in fine form, completed Bayern's turnaround in the 84th minute with his 22nd goal of the campaign.

The hosts twice came close through Lewandowski in a one-sided start with Bayern pressing for an early goal and Darmstadt forced to defend desperately.

Arturo Vidal's shot was tipped over the bar and Arjen Robben failed to beat the keeper in a golden one-on-one opportunity as Bayern had chances galore.

The hosts were punished for their wastefulness when Darmstadt's Sandro Wagner beat central defender Serdar Tasci at the near post to head in a cross and silence the 75 000 home crowd.

Bayern, however, kept up the pressure and Douglas Costa rattled the bar with a thundering shot immediately after the visitors went ahead.

The pressure finally paid off early in the second half with Mueller chesting a ball down and slotting in for his 16th goal of the campaign.

Germany international Mueller topped that with an even better effort, again controlling the ball with his chest in the box and scoring with a bicycle kick as Darmstadt ran out of steam.

Lewandowski tapped in from close range from a Franck Ribery pass with the Frenchman coming on as a second-half substitute for his first appearance since suffering an injury in December.

Bayern are on 59 points with second-placed Borussia Dortmund, on 48, facing Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

VfL Wolfsburg could not build on their midweek Champions League win over Gent, having to settle for a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin, who are third on 36.

Gladbach moved up to 35 points, level with fourth-placed Leverkusen, after edging past Cologne 1-0 in the Rhine derby courtesy of Mahmoud Dahoud's ninth-minute winner.

Hoffenheim celebrated their first win under 28-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann, in his second game in charge, when they beat Mainz 05 3-2 with Mark Uth scoring twice.

Zenit sign Crvena Zvezda defender

Zenit St Petersburg have signed central defender Vukasin Jovanovic from Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, the Russian champions' website (www.fc-zenit.ru) said on Saturday.

The length of the contract with the 19-year-old, who represents Serbia at under-21 level, was not given.

Jovanovic made his debut for Crvena Zvezda in August 2014 and scored two goals in 32 games in the Serbian championship.

Zenit are sixth in the Russian Premier League. They lost the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 match with Benfica 1-0 and host the return leg in St Petersburg on 

Bayern eye club record at home to Darmstadt

Bayern Munich could make club history on Saturday as a clean sheet against Darmstadt in the Bundesliga would see Pep Guardiola's side go a record six home games without conceding a goal.

Arsenal were the last club to score against Bayern at Munich's Allianz Arena back in November when Olivier Giroud scored the Gunners' consolation in a 5-1 loss.

Since that Champions League group game, Bayern have won all five of their home games in all competitions without conceding a single goal and hold an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Guardiola's team are in no mood to give Darmstadt any hope of a first win in Munich in their final match before their Champions League last 16, first-leg clash at Juventus next Tuesday.

Especially as Darmstadt have picked up 17 of their 24 points this season away from home.

"They will play very deep and very compact," said Bayern midfielder Xabi Alonso.

"We will have to be patient and it'll be important to get the first goal.

"It's all about Darmstadt for now, we want to keep our eight-point lead. Only afterwards will we think about Juventus."

With 21 goals to his credit, Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski has scored almost as many goals as the 22 the entire Darmstadt team has managed.

The visitors' cause is not helped by a raft of suspensions.

Peter Niemeyer, Jerome Gondorf, Aytac Sulu, Marcel Heller and Konstantin Rausch are all banned after each picked up yellow cards in last Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

"We have registered that. However, I believe that no one wants to miss this chance to play in front of an audience of millions," said Darmstadt coach Dirk Schuster confidently.

Guardiola hopes to have centre-backs Medhi Benatia and Serdar Tasci fit as he was unable to play a single central defender in last weekend's win at Augsburg after Holger Badstuber fractured an ankle.

Dortmund will be looking to make it nine games undefeated at Leverkusen on Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel's Dortmund are in impressive form as last Saturday's 1-0 win over bottom side Hanover 96 left them 13 points clear of third-placed Bayer.

Having sat out the Hanover win, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be looking to add to his 20 goals in as many league games to rival Lewandowski.

The last time Leverkusen beat Dortmund at the BayArena was in May 2007, but Roger Schmidt’s men have picked up 14 of a possible 18 points and are undefeated in their last six games.

Leverkusen will again be without striker Javier Hernandez after the Mexican tore a buttock muscle in their German Cup defeat to Werder Bremen 10 days ago.

Cologne fans plan a protest before kick-off of Saturday's match at Borussia Moenchengladbach over the restricted number of away fans allowed.

Gladbach will be without centre-back Martin Stranzl, who tore his right calf in training on Wednesday as they look to bounce back from Sunday's shock defeat to Hamburg.

Fresh from their Champions League last 16, first-leg win at Gent, Wolfsburg are at Hertha Berlin on Saturday without defender Sebastian Jung.

The right-back tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee in Belgium and is expected to miss the rest of the season after limping out of Wolfsburg's 3-2 victory.

Fixtures (all times 1430 GMT unless stated)

Friday

E. Frankfurt v Hamburg (1930)

Saturday

Bayern Munich v Darmstadt, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Cologne, Hertha Berlin v Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim v Mainz, Ingolstadt v Werder Bremen

Sunday

Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund, Schalke v VfB Stuttgart (1630), Hanover 96 v Augsburg (1630)

Reims out to inflict Euro hangover on PSG

Unbeaten runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain return to Ligue 1 duty against struggling Reims on Saturday, four days after earning a narrow first-leg advantage over Chelsea in the Champions League last 16.

Edinson Cavani made an immediate impact as a substitute on Tuesday by netting a 78th-minute winner at the Parc des Princes after John Obi Mikel had cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's deflected free-kick to hand Laurent Blanc's side a 2-1 edge.

The Uruguayan has started just twice in the league in 2016 after losing his place as a regular starter, but Cavani could well return to the line-up with Blanc preparing to rotate his side this weekend.

Reims are one of the few teams to frustrate PSG this season, with the capital club needing another late goal from Cavani to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw back in September.

"Even if it's PSG, a big European team, we're not going there as victims. We always want to show what we're capable of doing against the big teams," said Reims defender Abdelhamid El Kaoutari.

"I think (the outcome) will depend on what Paris have to offer. If it's the PSG from Tuesday (against Chelsea), there are few teams who can stand up to them," added Reims coach Olivier Guegan, whose side enter the weekend two points above the drop zone.

Paris on the other hand are unbeaten in 35 league games and cruising towards a fourth straight French title, with a mammoth 24-point gap separating themselves and nearest challengers Monaco, who are at home to bottom side Troyes this weekend.

BACK IN CONTENTION

Lyon were in crisis mode less than a month ago, but three convincing wins in a row have propelled Bruno Genesio's side right back into contention for a top-three finish.

OL travel to Lille on Sunday with the visitors trailing third-place Nice and bitter rivals Saint-Etienne by just a point in the race for France's final Champions League berth.

"It's the start of a run we have to continue with a couple of difficult matches coming up. We have to keep on working with the same spirit," said Genesio in the wake of last weekend's 4-1 demolition of Caen.

Lyon will be without influential midfielder Corentin Tolisso for several weeks after he hurt his hamstring in training, but there was a welcome sight as Nabil Fekir, out since September with a knee injury, stepped up his road to recovery in midweek.

Saint-Etienne secured a 3-2 victory at home to Basle in the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday having thrown away a two-goal lead, with Christophe Galtier's men facing a quick turnaround as they head to Marseille this weekend.

Early-season surprise packages Angers and Caen will bid to turn around their fading fortunes at home to Montpellier and Rennes respectively, with both sides losers of their last three matches.

Toulouse, currently eight points from safety, can ill-afford another defeat as they risk being cut further adrift when they take on 18th-placed Gazelec Ajaccio.

Meanwhile, Bastia's match at home to in-form Nantes, planned for Saturday, has been postponed following violent clashes between fans and police in Corsica.

Fixtures (kick-off 1900 GMT unless stated):

Friday

Bordeaux v Nice (1930)

Saturday

Paris Saint-Germain v Reims (1600), Monaco v Troyes, Lorient v Guingamp, Angers v Montpellier, Toulouse v Gazelec Ajaccio

Sunday

Marseille v Saint-Etienne (1300), Caen v Rennes (1600), Lille v Lyon (2000)

Buffaloes eye Charity Shield final place

Green Buffaloes chase their second cup final appearance in just four months, when they face Zanaco in the 2016 Charity Shield semifinals at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka on Saturday.

Buffaloes last November lifted the Barclays Cup to cap a strong run in the second half of the 2015 Faz Super League season in which they finished 4th that guaranteed them this Charity Shield berth.

They face 2015 league runners-up Zanaco who beat those 3-0 away and drew 1-1 in league meetings last season.

But Coach Bilton Musonda is hoping his Zambia stars who recently returned from the 2016 Caf African Nations Championship (Chan) in Rwanda will turn around Buffaloes fortunes against Zanaco this weekend.

Key will be veteran captain Christopher Katongo who inspired Buffaloes to victory in the 2015 Barclays Cup final.

Defender Stephen Kabamba, who scored in the away draw against Zanaco last August, is one of the Chan stars set to lineup this weekend together with Jack Chirwa, Adrian Chama and Buchiyza Mfune who were all instrumental in Zambia’s Chan quarterfinal qualification. Meanwhile, Buffaloes warmed-up for Zanaco by winning a four-club round-robin tournament in Lusaka last weekend.

Buffaloes began the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Nkwazi on Friday before beating Green Eagles 5-0 on Saturday before winning the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Arrows on Sunday.