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Sunday, February 9, 2025
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Zesco Not Under Pressure Ahead of Nkana Clash

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MTN Super League side Zesco United’s interim head coach Emmanuel Siwale says his team does not have any form of anxiety heading into Sunday’s top-of-the-bill clash against table-topping Nkana at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.

Zesco and Nkana, both with 33 points, are separated by goal difference, which sees the latter leading the table after an impressive run of eight wins out of 11 matches under the tutelage of Mwenya Chipepo.

Nonetheless, Siwale says the Ndola giants are not intimidated by the record 13-time league winners’ current fine form and will aim to collect maximum points on Sunday.

“It is a big game; we respect Nkana, and I’m sure they also respect us. But if we are Zesco and we are playing at home, and when the boys are ready, if they can just replicate what they did in the second half [against Nkwazi] and start from where we ended, then that will be good for us,” Siwale said in an interview with ZNBC’s Radio 4 this morning.

Siwale added that Zesco is not giving the Week 21 encounter against Kalampa any special attention and is preparing for the fixture like any other league match.

“It is not about pressure, but sometimes it can be because it is a big game. However, we are in the same league, and it is a fixture that we will fulfill, so it is no different from these other fixtures that we’ve played,” he said.

However, Siwale acknowledged the rivalry that comes with the fixture and insisted that his team will have to work on perfecting their execution to deliver a positive result on Sunday.

“The Nkana game will be a bygone and a different game, so it will be about the way we plan for them and the way we apply ourselves on that day,” said Siwale.

He added that Zesco will look to continue from where they left off against Nkwazi last weekend when they came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 in Lusaka.

“This football is sometimes all about tactics and the way you apply yourselves. We will start like we did in the second half against Nkwazi,” he said.

Zesco has not lost to Nkana in the last five meetings between the two sides, with their last defeat to the Kitwe giants dating back to 2022.

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