NPFL: With Two Matches To Go, Which Teams Drop To NNL, Which Teams Play In The Super 6?

NPFL: With Two Matches To Go, Which Teams Drop To NNL, Which Teams Play In The Super 6?

By Admin

The abridged 2022/2023 Nigeria Premiere Football League is fast coming to an end with two matchdays to go as teams are fighting to make it to the eagerly anticipated Super Six to determine the outright winners while others are struggling to beat the drop.

Attention On Group B

As it stands, 10th placed Wikki Tourists and 9th placed Dakkada can be said to have been relegated, 

Wikki who currently have 9pts with -13gd can only have 18pts if they win their last three remaining games against Abia Warriors, Lobi Stars and Rivers Utd which may not even be good enough to save them due to goal difference, same situation goes to Dakkada who currently have 12pts with -11gd can only have 18pts if they win their last two games against Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars which might still not be good enough to save them either due to goal difference, 

On the other hand, 8th placed Bayelsa Utd with 18pts and +2gd can be said to have survived the drop thanks to their hard-fought 2-1 home win over Sunshine Stars. 

As regards the race for Super Six

 with two games to go, no team in this group can be said to have been officially qualified for super six yet as the quintet of Lobi Stars, Doma Utd, Abia Warriors, Rivers Utd and Niger Tornadoes are all fighting it out, 

recall that champions Rivers Utd have three outstanding games and they currently have 23pts and +5gd, Lobi are however topping with 29pts and +5gd with their last two games coming up against the bottom two: Dakkada and Wikki Tourists. 

In Group A: As regards relegation, with two games to go, 6th placed shooting Stars with 21pts are completely save from the drop leaving the quartet of Gombe Utd 19pts, Kwara Utd 14pts, Nasarawa Utd 13pts and Elkanemi Warriors 9pts to battle it out, however, 9th placed Nasarawa Utd and 10th placed Elkanemi are mostly in danger of not surviving the drop.

 Nasarawa Utd's last two games are against fellow strugglers Kwara Utd and group leaders Bendel Insurance while Elkanemi Warriors play against super six chasers Akwa Utd and Plateau Utd. 

In The Race For Super Six:

As it stands, group leaders Brendel Insurance with 32pts and +11gd have officially secured their place for the Super Six with two games to go considering the fact that they can not drop beyond third place even if they lose their last two games against 6th placed Shooting Stars and 9th placed Nasarawa Utd. 

However, two super six positions are up for grabs in this group with five teams fighting for them: 2nd placed Enyimba with 28pts and +8gd, 3rd placed Akwa Utd with 26pts and +7gd, 4th placed Plateau Utd with 25pts and +7gd, 5th placed Remo Stars with 24pts and -1gd and 6th placed Shooting Stars with 21pts, any two of the above mentioned teams can dramatically clinch any of the two available super six spots, 7th placed Gombe Utd with 19pts and -4gd literally have nothing left to play for as they can not be relegated and yet can not clinch any of the two available top six spots whatever happens in their last two games. 

Last two fixtures for the five super six chasing teams in group A:

Enyimba - Gombe Utd (H), Shooting Stars (A)

Akwa Utd - Elkanemi Warriors (H), Gombe Utd (A)

Plateau Utd - Remo Stars (H), Elkanemi Warriors (A)

Remo Stars - Plateau Utd (A), Kwara Utd (H)

Shooting Stars - Bendel Insurance (A), Enyimba (H).

So who will make it to the super six in both groups? 

And who will not survive the drop in both groups? 

The battle goes on to the final match day on the 14th of May, 2023.

-SSIMedia