The group stage of the elite football championship in Nigeria is coming to an end. After 18 rounds from groups “A” and “B” the strongest six clubs will form the championship group. The four weakest teams out of two dozen will go down in class.
The main contenders for the league title this season are: Bendel, Enyimba, Lobi and Rivers United. Having studied the data form of the opposing sides, you can understand which of the clubs has a better chance of winning. If you like to bet on football and play in online casinos, then we advise you to do it at mostbet.com casino.
Bendel
The “Green-Yellows” after 17 matches played in the championship led the standings of group “A”. At the same time, the team was ahead of the second Enyimba by two points, and the third by Remo Stars by three. In general, Bendel guaranteed himself getting into the championship group before the end of the group stage. Ismael Seriki and partners won eight victories and drew in nine cases, without suffering a single defeat. It should also be noted that the representatives of Benin City had the best defense among all the participants in the competition, conceding only 10 goals.
Benin Arsenal looks great in terms of play and is quite capable of accomplishments. So in the championship group, Bendel can perform confidently and aim for the championship title.
Enyimba
The Blue-Whites, after 17 games played in Group A, are on the second line. Two points behind Bendel, Finidi George’s men were one point ahead of Remo Stars. In order to guarantee yourself a passage further than Enyimbe in the last round, it is important to defeat Shooting on the road. Having won nine victories in the group stage, the People’s Elephants have drawn and lost four times. Only Plato, Remo Stars, Bendel and Aqua lost out to the “warriors of Aba”. At the same time, after the defeat in early April, the team issued a series of five fights without losing.
The “people’s elephants” have one of the strongest attacks in the league, which managed to score 25 goals in 17 matches. At the same time, the defense of the “warriors of Aba” is also quite strong. It will not be easy for the brainchild of Felix Añasi-Agvu in the champion group, but the Blue-Whites will try to impose a fight.
Lobi
“Blue-white-red” by the 17th round led the group “B”. At the same time, the second Rivers United and the third Doma United Loby were four points ahead. At the same time, representatives of Makurdi had more games than competitors. Having won nine fights, Ortom Boys have drawn three times and lost five times. The defeated team was Rivers United, Vikki, Doma United, Baelsa United and Sunshine Stars.
The Blue-White-Reds do not differ in stability, and if they enter the champion group, it will be quite difficult for the team to compete for gold medals. At the same time, Lobi players will make every effort to win the Nigerian Premier League trophy for the first time in the club’s history.
Rivers United
The Blues were second in Group B after 14 matches. Tied in points with third at Home United, Port Harcourt was four points behind first Loby. At the same time, the representatives of the state of Rivers had three games less than the leader. So the chances of going further from the first line in the “Pride of the Rivers” are quite good. In addition, the “sharks and dolphins” have only two defeats in the championship. The boys of Stanley Eguma were defeated by Doma United and Lobi.
Having been knocked out in the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederations Cup, Rivers United can fully focus on the domestic championship. Established in 2016, the club has never been a Nigerian champion. So this season, Abidun Akande and partners will try to get gold for the first time in the history of the team.
Our prediction
Lobi and Enyimba are not stable. So it is unlikely that the Blue-White and Blue-White-Red will be able to compete for the championship. Most likely, the main contenders for gold medals will be Bendel, who has not yet lost, and Rivers United, who are spending a fairly good season. Due to the excellent defense and excellent team play, preference should be given to the “green-yellow”.